go under

verb

went under; gone under; going under; goes under

intransitive verb

1

: sink entry 1 sense 1a

The ship went under in the storm.

2

: to be overwhelmed, destroyed, or defeated : fail

The company went under during the recession.

Examples of go under in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Last month, a home in Golden Beach went under contract for nearly $80 million. — Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2026

Per TruMedia, the Chiefs went under center on 20 percent of their snaps in 2025. — Jesse Newell, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

As both players’ clocks go under 10 seconds, hands are flying over the board. — Peter Doggers, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2026

The woman returned, although at that point the man went under the water and got separated from the craft. — Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 7 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for go under

• asunder
• blunder
• bunder
• funder
• plunder
• sunder
• thunder