run into the ground
Idioms-
Pursue a topic until it has been thoroughly discussed or exhausted, as in They've run the abortion issue into the ground .
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Ruin or destroy, as in During her brief time as chief executive Marjorie just about ran the company into the ground . Both usages allude to pushing something so far that it is, in effect, buried. [Early 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The easiest thing would have been for Robert to plow on until he truly pegged out and by which time the estate probably would have been run into the ground or mismanaged,” Bonneville says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
But as the Framers could have warned you, a nation that was dreamed up chiefly by lawyers was almost overdetermined to be run into the ground by them one day.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2023
I wanted to quit the show before it got really bad and run into the ground.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022
Commenting on the pay ballot results, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said staff had "had enough of pay and working conditions being run into the ground".
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2021
It had faded out or run into the ground.
From A Rambler's lease by Bradford Torrey
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
