go up in flames

Idioms

Also, go up in smoke. Be utterly destroyed, as in This project will go up in flames if the designer quits, or All our work is going up in smoke. This idiom transfers a fire to other kinds of destruction. [Early 1900s]

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.

But Blue Origin just saw its plans go up in flames during a ground test explosion of its flagship New Glenn rocket, which damaged their launch platform and heralded delays.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

Forecasts say millions of acres could go up in flames this season.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

They were the last two on the block to go up in flames, said Skinner, who tried to stay as long as possible to hose down the shrubs around his and Harris’ homes.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2025

Forest rangers are concerned about forests that haven’t burned in decades, which contain an abundance of downed wood waiting to go up in flames.

From Slate • Nov. 12, 2024

They sailed into San Francisco Bay on the morning after the earthquake and spent their first three days in America sitting offshore watching the city go up in flames.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

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