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wither on the vine

Idioms

Fail to come to fruition, as in This building project will wither on the vine if they don't agree on a price. This expression alludes to grapes shriveling and drying up because they were not picked when ripe.

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.

We do need to eliminate poverty for older Americans, but the answer lies in strengthening SSI, which has been allowed to wither on the vine.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026

It’s turbocharging the runaway market leader, leaving the other studios’ streaming services to wither on the vine.

From Slate • Dec. 6, 2025

It is just going to wither on the vine.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2024

The price of red grapes has barely covered their production costs, prompting some growers to simply let them wither on the vine, while others accepted contracts well below the cost of production, Mr. McLean said.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2024

But every idea, no matter how good, seemed to wither on the vine of his imagination.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023