Word.ws English Dictionary

down in flames

down in flames adverb: in a decisive and possibly humiliating manner.

Adverb

down in flames (not comparable)

  1. In a decisive and possibly humiliating manner
    • I tried to hit on her but she shot me down in flames

Questions about down in flames

What does down in flames mean?
Down in flames means in a decisive and possibly humiliating manner.
What part of speech is down in flames?
Down in flames is an adverb.

Words near down in flames in the dictionary

  1. down feather
  2. down feathers
  3. down for the count
  4. down home
  5. down horrendous
  6. down in flames
  7. down in the dumps
  8. down in the heel
  9. down in the heels
  10. down in the mouth
  11. down jacket

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: down in flames (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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