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throw good money after bad

Idioms  

  1. Waste more money in hopes of recouping previous losses, as in Hiring him to improve that software is throwing good money after bad; it's based on an older operating system and will soon be obsolete. [Late 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.

Yet Newcastle's desperation could see them throw good money after bad.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

Six decades later, the Energy Department has decided to throw good money after bad.

From Scientific American • Oct. 20, 2023

It’s not a good idea to throw good money after bad.

From Washington Times • Feb. 24, 2016

“They throw good money after bad thinking they can turn their luck around.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2016

I'm not the man to throw good money after bad.

From The Girl Aviators' Sky Cruise by Burnham, Margaret

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.