going under
7
8.1
- noun
:
hundimiento
- During the inspection, the divers confirmed that a ship was going under at the harbor.
- going under the water
Examples
-
We saved an American auto industry on the brink of going under.
Blog text (3) -
They don't just throw their money at it like Simon Jordan did, and they saved us from going under.
Blog text (23) -
As you may recall, when the New York Times was in danger of going under in 2008, the Mexican telecom monopolist loaned the NYT $200 million.
Blog text (18) -
At 2:17 a.m., according to the various investigations after the disaster, the Titanic began to go under, her lights blazing in the cold of the sub-Arctic night and with more than 1,500 people still on board.
Academic text (2012) -
The captain ordered the crew to prepare for the ship's going under due to the severe storm.
-
As the waves crashed against it, the old vessel was inevitably going under after taking on water.
Synonyms
17
2.8
A boat or object that goes below the water's surface
3
8.4
The state of being completely covered by water
1
6.2
Putting something completely under water or another liquid
Something sinks until it is completely covered by water
How far things sink into ground or water
Antonyms
How Submerged
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the ship sinking below the surface' is directly built from 'going' (moving) + 'under' (beneath), yielding a straightforward motion-to-below interpretation. This verb + directional particle composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended sense.
Etymology
Going under comes from an old sailors' image of a boat literally going under the water as waves cover it. So the phrase now means 'the act of a ship sinking'.