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

The move also leaves Honda with very few EVs to sell around the world, causing it to lose ground to Chinese and South Korean competitors.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

Protecting democracies required "hard power", he said, while "theatrical debates about the merits of developing technologies with critical military and national security applications" would see the US lose ground to its adversaries.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

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

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

Would an all-out rupture between the two of them cause the whole civil rights movement to lose ground?

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge