crash and burn
idiom
US, informal
: to fail completely
The company crashed and burned after only two years in business.
Examples of crash and burn in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most people never ask…You’ve got to be willing to crash and burn with people on the phone, with starting a company, with whatever.
—
Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
That path would require at least two teams ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC wild-card race to crash and burn.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Dec. 2025
Senior Republican lawmakers predicted that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new policy restricting communication between Pentagon personnel and Congress will crash and burn.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
The album’s emotional palette fluidly shifts between defiant bravado and glum recognition that the big dream was more than likely to crash and burn.
—Jesse Adams, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crash and burn
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Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
That path would require at least two teams ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC wild-card race to crash and burn.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Dec. 2025
Senior Republican lawmakers predicted that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new policy restricting communication between Pentagon personnel and Congress will crash and burn.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
The album’s emotional palette fluidly shifts between defiant bravado and glum recognition that the big dream was more than likely to crash and burn.
—Jesse Adams, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crash and burn
Cite this Entry
“Crash and burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crash%20and%20burn. Accessed 15 Dec. 2025.
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