to go under
43
4.4
- phrasal verb
- /ɡoʊ ˈʌndər/
:
quebrar
- Many small businesses went under during the economic recession.
And if that bank goes under, then that bank does not own the house.
- And if that bank goes under, then that bank does not own the house.
- Your bank shouldn't have been buying subprime mortgages if your bank went under because it was buying them.
- But if that place ever goes under, we're screwed.
- A large fast food company, something like a Greg's will go under.
- No, no, She got enough when Pinnacle eventually went under.
- Well, this is so a lot of amazing robotics companies have gone under over the past few decades.
- So I just wrote an article about how this this company that makes her favorite article almond milk was was going under because of Brexit.
- Some banks had gone under, and while Morgan has done amazing work, he can't reasonably afford to keep doing this.
Examples
-
And then he left me when the business went under.
-
What about the number of small businesses that will go under permanently and their employees?
Blog text (10) -
And if that bank goes under, then that bank does not own the house.
-
You know, his entire construction business, it went under.
-
- Just my luck, the company I worked for went under.
-
More than half of them go under within the first six months.
-
I had a dozen employees who were gonna lose their job if I went under.
-
A noble goal, but no surprise, the site went under after a few months.
Blog text (16) -
The people in my network were very supportive of me when my firm went under.
Academic text (2003) -
Lehman Brothers went under and the Fed did what?
Synonyms
579
3.9
To fall down suddenly, for example when a person faints or a building breaks
361
5.1
Go out of business and stop operating
18
5.5
Plans or hopes suddenly fail and disappear for good
15
5.3
To fail completely and close, especially a business or project
7
7.9
Stop operating because it has run out of money
2
6.7
Fall or fail very quickly and completely
To fail very quickly and completely with no chance to get better
Antonyms
How Solvent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to be known or called by a particular name' is not directly derivable from the literal senses of 'go' (to become) and 'under' (beneath/experiencing a state); the phrase relies on the idiomatic pattern 'go under the name (of)'. There is a partial metaphorical link (being 'under' a label), but the specific sense of adopting/being known by an alternate name is a fixed usage that B1 learners who only know the constituents would not reliably predict without exposure.
Etymology
Go under was used for ships that sank, and people used the same picture for businesses: when a company loses money it 'goes under' like a sinking ship and stops working. That's why it means 'to fail'.