to hit rock bottom
22
4.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
tocar fondo
- After losing his job and experiencing a breakup, he finally hit rock bottom and decided to seek help.
- really hit rock bottom
- finally hit rock bottom
- just hit rock bottom
The second thing I think is that when you hit rock bottom, you stop.
- The second thing I think is that when you hit rock bottom, you stop.
- OK, the next one I thought I had hit rock bottom, but then I met you.
- And often we have to let the person hit rock bottom before change will happen.
- We look for purpose only when we hit rock bottom, right.
- In other words, all the chips are down, you've hit rock bottom.
- So clearly I had hit rock bottom and I was ready for a change.
- Yeah, I it's almost, it's almost, it's almost like everybody needs to hit rock bottom before we're able to rebuild again.
- And so the key to moving forward is using this moment where you hit rock bottom, because when you hit rock bottom, an interesting thing happens.
- I'm saying all these things because there were times in my life where I felt very lost and like I hit rock bottom.
- I have witnessed many narcissistic individuals hit rock bottom in my years of doing this work and like all rock bottoms, it is not pretty.
- I think, I think the reason that people hit rock bottom and then teach it is so that other people don't have to.
Examples
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And sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to realize what you had.
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And often we have to let the person hit rock bottom before change will happen.
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The second thing I think is that when you hit rock bottom, you stop.
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OK, the next one I thought I had hit rock bottom, but then I met you.
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We look for purpose only when we hit rock bottom, right.
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Do you ever feel like you hit rock bottom?
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My son had hit rock bottom.
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We all hit rock bottom at some point in our lives... it's part of the human experience.
Blog text (13) -
I was in denial, then I was angry, then I hit rock bottom.
Academic text (2014) -
Sounds like you've really hit rock bottom.
Synonyms
21
5.1
Reach the lowest point after a time of trouble
11
5.8
To reach the lowest point before starting to get better
To fall to the lowest point in a situation, for example in money or confidence
Antonyms
How Low
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'hit' (reach/strike) and 'bottom' (the lowest point) make the core meaning — reaching a lowest point — reasonably inferable, while 'rock' functions as an intensifier (very bottom) rather than contributing a literal sense. The expression relies on a metaphorical extension (life/fortunes having a "bottom") that is common cross-linguistically but not fully literal, so a B1 learner who knows the words can guess the general idea but not the full idiomatic nuance.
Etymology
The idiom hit rock bottom shows the image of someone falling until they hit hard rock at the very bottom. So, it means 'reach the lowest point' in life or a situation, with no lower place to go.