go down in flames
go down in flames verb: to fail miserably and with long-term consequences.
Verb
go down in flames (third-person singular simple present goes down in flames, present participle going down in flames, simple past went down in flames, past participle gone down in flames)
- To fail miserably and with long-term consequences.
- Synonyms:
- crash and burn
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go, down, in, flames: descend while aflame, crash and burn, etc.
- Near-synonym: crash and burn
- Synonyms:
- crash and burn
Synonyms of go down in flames
Forms of go down in flames
| third-person singular present | goes down in flames |
|---|---|
| present participle | going down in flames |
| past | went down in flames |
| past participle | gone down in flames |
Origin of go down in flames
The figurative sense is by metaphor from the literal sense. Attested since the early 20th century, ever since aeroplanes appeared but especially since World War I, when shooting them out of the sky first became a widespread thing.
Questions about go down in flames
- What does go down in flames mean?
- Go down in flames means to fail miserably and with long-term consequences.
- What part of speech is go down in flames?
- Go down in flames is a verb.
- What is the past tense of go down in flames?
- The past tense of go down in flames is went down in flames.
Words near go down in flames in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: go 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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-go down in flames.ogg.
Cite this entry: “go down in flames.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/go_down_in_flames. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.