to take a dive
8
9.3
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ə daɪv/
:
dejarse caer
- The claims that the fighter would take a dive for money shocked the fans.
- paid to take a dive
- made him take a dive
- gonna take a dive
Examples
-
Last time we fought, chump, I was paid to take a dive.
Fiction book (1998) -
- They want me to take a dive.
-
Why would they make me take a dive unless they knew the other guy would get to 21 ?
-
Now l'm supposed to take a dive for the cause of education ?
-
They made me take a dive.
-
Everybody's gonna take a dive.
-
Herbert Stempel is going to take a dive !
-
He tells me that Dan Enright made him take a dive.
-
The boxer was accused of arranging to take a dive during the match.
-
After receiving a large payout, he decided to take a dive in the second round.
Antonyms
How Dishonest
8
9.3
∞
2.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal components 'take' (undergo) + 'dive' (to fall or plunge) give a partial clue — one might infer a deliberate falling or plunging action — but the specific sports sense 'to lose deliberately' (often for payment) is an idiomatic, pragmatic extension that is not fully predictable from the parts. The meaning requires exposure to sports/boxing usage and cultural knowledge, so it is partially but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase take a dive comes from boxing, where a fighter would fall to the floor on purpose, as if making a dive into water. That strong picture of falling on purpose is why the phrase means 'to lose on purpose' today.