lose ground

Idioms  

1. Fail to hold one's position; fall behind, deteriorate. For example, The Democrats were losing ground in this district, or We thought Grandma was getting better, but now she's quickly losing ground. This expression originally referred to territory lost by a retreating army. [Second half of 1700s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lose ground

The market, however, might find out soon enough which software players will actually lose ground to AI—contrary to the idea that any potential loss of market share is years away.

From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026

Phil Spencer, 58 years old, will depart after helping to build the company up as a videogames powerhouse only to see it lose ground in recent years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026

Equities tend to lose ground as such uncertainty rises, as investors demand greater potential return to compensate for the additional risk.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2025

But he is worried that Indian exporters may lose ground to African competitors who offer similar quality products at lower prices.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025

But all students in a bad school, black and white, do lose ground to students in good schools.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt