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

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

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

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

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