Let’s step into a world where it’s okay to stumble and fall, because it’s all part of the journey. Embracing failure is a stepping stone to success, and understanding it is key to being resilient. To articulate these moments in English, it’s essential to learn collocations related to Failure. This topic might sound a bit gloomy, but remember, every cloud has a silver lining. By learning how to express setbacks, you gain the power to tell more relatable stories. After all, who doesn’t face hurdles? So, ready to explore the beauty in breakdowns with some commonly used collocations?
Let’s dive into a list of 41 collocations that will help you express “failure” in various contexts:
1. Epic failure: A spectacular failure.
Example: His first business venture was an epic failure.
2. Come to nothing: If a plan or activity comes to nothing, it fails.
Example: All his efforts to save the business came to nothing.
3. Fall flat: To fail completely, typically in a humorous or embarrassing way.
Example: Her jokes fell flat with the audience.
4. Miss the boat: To lose an opportunity to do something by being slow to act.
Example: He missed the boat on applying for the scholarship.
5. Slip through fingers: If something such as an opportunity slips through your fingers, you fail to obtain it or keep it.
Example: The championship slipped through their fingers in the last minute of the game.
6. Go belly up: If a company goes belly up, it fails by going bankrupt.
Example: The company went belly up after a series of poor investments.
7. Draw a blank: To fail to get a result.
Example: I’ve been trying to remember his name all day, but I keep drawing a blank.
8. Fall on deaf ears: If a suggestion or warning falls on deaf ears, it is ignored.
Example: His advice about investing wisely fell on deaf ears.
9. Go downhill: To become worse in quality, health, or state.
Example: His health has been going downhill since he lost his job.
10. Hit a brick wall: To meet an insurmountable obstacle.
Example: We hit a brick wall in our negotiations with the other company.
11. In deep water: To be in a difficult situation which is hard to deal with.
Example: He found himself in deep water over his financial dealings.
12. Lose ground: To become less successful than the others.
Example: The party has been losing ground in urban areas.
13. Go to the wall: To fail financially.
Example: Many small businesses have gone to the wall during the recession.
14. Burn your bridges: To do something that makes it impossible to return to an earlier state.
Example: By quitting his job in such a dramatic way, he really burned his bridges.
15. Miss the mark: To fail to achieve the result that was intended.
Example: The new ad campaign missed the mark and sales dropped.
16. Lose one’s touch: To no longer have the skill or talent to do something as well as before.
Example: I used to be quite good at tennis but I’ve lost my touch.
17. Back to square one: If you are back to square one, you have to start working on a plan from the beginning because your previous attempt failed completely.
Example: After our idea was rejected, we were back to square one.
18. Fall through the cracks: To be overlooked or forgotten.
Example: Many important tasks fell through the cracks due to lack of organization.
19. Down in the dumps: To be depressed or discouraged.
Example: He has been down in the dumps since his project failed.
20. Not cut out for: Not having the abilities or qualities necessary for a task.
Example: He realized he was not cut out for the military.
21. Lose one’s nerve: To lose courage.
Example: I lost my nerve at the last minute and didn’t ask her for a date.
22. Up against the wall: In a hard-pressed situation; in a spot of trouble.
Example: Without a good lawyer, he was up against the wall.
23. Go under the hammer: To be sold at auction.
Example: The bankrupt company’s assets will go under the hammer next week.
24. Throw in the towel: To quit; to give up.
Example: After losing three games in a row, the team almost threw in the towel.
25. Go down in flames: To fail dramatically or spectacularly.
Example: His business went down in flames due to poor financial management.
26. Hang by a thread: To be in a precarious or dangerous situation.
Example: The patient’s life was hanging by a thread after the accident.
27. Lose one’s head: To panic or become very agitated when things go wrong.
Example: When the crisis hit, he lost his head and made some poor decisions.
28. Run out of steam: To lose momentum or inspiration.
Example: Halfway through the project, the team ran out of steam.
29. At a loss: Uncertain about what to do; confused.
Example: I was at a loss about how to proceed after the setback.
30. Pull the plug: To end an activity or project prematurely.
Example: Due to budget constraints, they had to pull the plug on the event.
31. Pay the price: To suffer the consequences of one’s actions.
Example: He paid the price for his reckless driving when he lost his license.
32. Hit rock bottom: To reach the lowest possible level.
Example: After losing his job, he hit rock bottom and had to move back in with his parents.
33. Go down the drain: To be wasted or lost.
Example: All our hard work went down the drain when the project was cancelled.
34. Fall by the wayside: To fail to continue; give up.
Example: Many students fall by the wayside due to lack of motivation.
35. Break the bank: To use up all one’s money.
Example: Buying that luxury car almost broke the bank.
36. In dire straits: In a very difficult situation.
Example: After the stock market crash, many investors were in dire straits.
37. Lose the plot: To no longer understand or follow what is happening.
Example: He lost the plot halfway through the movie.
38. Throw a spanner in the works: To do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding.
Example: The sudden strike by the workers threw a spanner in the works.
39. Beat a dead horse: To waste effort on something when there is no chance of succeeding.
Example: He keeps trying to revive that old marketing strategy, but I think he’s beating a dead horse.
40. On the ropes: Close to defeat or failure.
Example: The company is on the ropes due to financial mismanagement.
41. Go to rack and ruin: To fall into disrepair or ruin.
Example: The property has gone to rack and ruin since it was abandoned.
Learning about failure doesn’t have to be a gloomy process. By understanding these collocations related to Failure, you can tell more nuanced and expressive stories. So, the next time you come across a roadblock, don’t be disheartened. Remember, we learn as much from our failures as we do from our successes.
