idiom · neutral
go under
UK/ɡəʊ ˈʌndə/US/ɡoʊ ˈʌndər/GO·un·DER
task2speaking
to fail financially (a business) or to collapse completely
Examples
“Many small cafés went under during the economic downturn.”
“If the school loses funding it may go under next year.”
“Several startups went under before they could scale up.”
Band 8 sentence
“Several high-street retailers went under after consumer habits shifted online.”
Collocations
- go under during + noun
- go under because of + noun
Word family
go under phrasal verbwent/gone under verb forms
Common mistakes
go undered→go under / went under
go under the company→go under
Say it for a higher band
5close→6shut down→7+go under
Synonyms
fold
go bankrupt
Easily confused
go belly up
“The chain went under after years of declining sales.”
Related words
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