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.
Fey revealed the lounge has fallen apart after literally being run into the ground by too many Five-Timers Club sketches.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
Former Arsenal and France forward Thierry Henry and ex-Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher have expressed the view, external that modern-day players are being "being treated like cattle" and "run into the ground".
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2025
I wanted to quit the show before it got really bad and run into the ground.
From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2022
A sure sign that a comic strip has run out of creative or even mildly amusing observations is its return to a recurring theme that other cartoon artists have run into the ground.
From Washington Post • Apr. 29, 2022
We were, each of us, supplied with pine-torches secured to sticks which could be run into the ground.
From In the Wilds of Florida A Tale of Warfare and Hunting by Davis, John Steeple
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
