to dig one's own grave
3
7.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
cavar su propia tumba
- You're digging your own grave.
- you've just dug your own grave
Examples
-
By refusing to take responsibility for his mistakes, he is digging his own grave.
-
He'll dig his own grave.
-
Choose the wrong one, you can start digging your own grave.
-
You just dug your own grave.
-
You dug your own grave.
-
You're digging your own grave right now...
-
If you don't fit into their plans, you've already dug your own grave.
-
If you keep ignoring the warnings, you are digging your own grave.
-
Every dishonest act you commit is just digging your own grave deeper.
Synonyms
20
8.4
Do or say something that harms your own chances
15
6.7
To ruin your own life or job by your actions
1
7.5
Cause trouble for yourself by your actions, often by accident
To cause problems for yourself because of your actions
Do something that causes trouble for yourself later
To take actions that seem good but cause bad results
Acting in a way that harms you because you trust your own wrong ideas
To cause a machine or person to stop working by their own action
Antonyms
How Harmful
128
4.6
- Informal
3
7.1
- Informal
103
3.2
37
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The image of 'dig' + 'one's own' + 'grave' evokes the idea of causing one’s own burial, so a learner who knows the words will likely infer self-inflicted harm or downfall. However, the expression is a metaphorical extension (not literal) and the precise idiomatic nuance — causing one’s failure or downfall rather than literal death — is not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partly transparent.
Etymology
The idiom dig one's own grave creates a clear image of someone with a shovel actually digging their grave, so they cause their own end. That's why the phrase means 'to do something that causes your own failure or downfall'.