idiom · neutral
go downhill
UK/ɡəʊ ˈdaʊnˌhɪl/US/ɡoʊ ˈdaʊnˌhɪl/go·DOWN·hill
speakingtask2
to become worse in health, condition, or quality
Examples
“Ever since the surgery complications started, his condition has gone downhill.”
“If you neglect maintenance, the building will go downhill quickly.”
“After the manager left, things gradually went downhill.”
Band 8 sentence
“After funding was cut, the quality of teaching went downhill over the next two years.”
Collocations
- go downhill quickly/slowly
- go downhill after + event
Word family
go downhill idiom / phrasal verbwent downhill past simple
Common mistakes
go down→go downhill
decrease→go downhill
Say it for a higher band
5get worse→6deteriorate→7+go downhill
Synonyms
deteriorate
worsen
Easily confused
deteriorate
“Her health began to deteriorate after the diagnosis.”
Related words
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In Health
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