Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

go downhill

Idioms  

  1. Deteriorate, worsen, as in Ever since the recession began, the business has been going downhill. The figurative use of downhill for “decline” dates from the mid-1800s. Also see downhill all the way.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Economic growth in the Southeast Asian nation is anaemic and there could still be an opportunity for Pheu Thai in future "if the economy continues to go downhill", Chambers said.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Let’s begin by celebrating the man whose year is only going to go downhill from here.

From Slate • Jan. 4, 2025

‘We expect things to go downhill Wednesday night and through Thursday,” he said.

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2024

“To watch him go downhill as fast as he did was really, really hard on Lincoln,” Stroud said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2023

Things started to go downhill from breakfast in the Great Hall.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.