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

Global carmakers are facing a reckoning as US, European and Japanese brands lose ground to Chinese rivals setting the pace not only in electric vehicles, but also in batteries, design and software.

From BBC • May 27, 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

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

But the peso continued to lose ground and monthly inflation has been creeping back up.

From Barron's • Oct. 25, 2025

She worried that easing up on their demands during the war would cause women to lose ground and forfeit the modest gains they had won.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling