throw in the towel

Cultural  

1. To quit in defeat. The phrase comes from boxing, in which a fighter indicates surrender by throwing a towel into the ring: “After losing the election, he threw in the towel on his political career.”

---

Example Sentences

If you faced challenges in your business or burned out in your career, did you throw in the towel or step back and breathe, and ask what your body was telling you?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

NPR is tracking the number of lawmakers who have decided to throw in the towel this year.

From Slate • Jan. 14, 2026

“If I were distracted by” negative press, she said in an interview when she was given the role, “I would’ve had to throw in the towel a very, very long time ago.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

Chasing 233, the Proteas were on the ropes at 78-5, but their tail refused to throw in the towel, showing the same grit that saw them turn the tables on India in their previous outing.

From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025

Because of their ravaged state when they arrived in camp the previous evening, I’d assumed that both men would decide to throw in the towel.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• bow
• break down
• buckle
• capitulate
• cave in
• cease
• defer
• give in
• give way
• go down
• pass away
• perish
• quit
• wilt
• yield