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 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

While a derby defeat to Lille last weekend did see them lose ground on PSG, Lens remain the most credible challenger to the league leaders heading into this season's final straight.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 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

While Somalia continues to lose ground to the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, Somaliland has maintained peace and democratic governance for more than three decades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

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