go belly-up
idiom
informal
: to fail completely
The team went belly-up in the play-offs.
The business went belly-up during the long recession.
Examples of go belly-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The lower the average quality of the debt, the more likely things could go belly-up and send hundreds of billions to money heaven.
—
Clem Chambers, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
The Astron effectively kicked off what people now call the quartz crisis: a period during the 1970s that saw around 1,000 Swiss watch companies go belly-up and the industry’s workforce shrink from 90,000 to below 30,000 by the end of the decade.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2024
At least one Silicon Valley veteran believes the fears that Twitter will go belly-up over the major employee exodus are overblown.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Nov. 2022
This is a guy who was a superstar in Miami, signing a 13-year, $325 million with the Marlins, only for the Marlins to go belly-up.
—Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 20 July 2022
The small business three of us started in 2016 may go belly-up this year.
—Lynne Curry | Alaska Workplace, Anchorage Daily News, 18 July 2022
In June, a CCA in Riverside County — Western Community Energy — filed for bankruptcy, becoming the first CCA in the state to go belly-up.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2021
With a fraction of fans attending games this fall, many of those businesses will likely just go belly-up.
—Mike Bianchi, orlandosentinel.com, 6 Sep. 2020
Still, there's a strong business argument to be made for the streamers to ensure that the small but artistically mighty entities that have made the golden age of television possible don't go belly-up.
—Chris Jones, ajc, 12 June 2020
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Clem Chambers, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
The Astron effectively kicked off what people now call the quartz crisis: a period during the 1970s that saw around 1,000 Swiss watch companies go belly-up and the industry’s workforce shrink from 90,000 to below 30,000 by the end of the decade.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2024
At least one Silicon Valley veteran believes the fears that Twitter will go belly-up over the major employee exodus are overblown.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Nov. 2022
This is a guy who was a superstar in Miami, signing a 13-year, $325 million with the Marlins, only for the Marlins to go belly-up.
—Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 20 July 2022
The small business three of us started in 2016 may go belly-up this year.
—Lynne Curry | Alaska Workplace, Anchorage Daily News, 18 July 2022
In June, a CCA in Riverside County — Western Community Energy — filed for bankruptcy, becoming the first CCA in the state to go belly-up.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2021
With a fraction of fans attending games this fall, many of those businesses will likely just go belly-up.
—Mike Bianchi, orlandosentinel.com, 6 Sep. 2020
Still, there's a strong business argument to be made for the streamers to ensure that the small but artistically mighty entities that have made the golden age of television possible don't go belly-up.
—Chris Jones, ajc, 12 June 2020
Cite this Entry
“Go belly-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20belly-up. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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