lose ground

Idioms and Phrases

Fail to hold one's position; fall behind, deteriorate. For example, The Democrats were losing ground in this district , or We thought Grandma was getting better, but now she's quickly losing ground . This expression originally referred to territory lost by a retreating army. [Second half of 1700s]

Example Sentences

And private sector unions have continued to lose ground in the Obama era, with membership continuing a 30-year decline.

From The Daily Beast

The richest have already recovered; the middle continues to lose ground; the poorer lose ground even faster.

From The Daily Beast

To see McChrystal go is to lose ground and have to restart the whole effort from scratch.

From The Daily Beast

Insecurity would rise, the Taliban would gain power, and women and girls would immediately lose ground.

From The Daily Beast

De Lisle says that where we have hand grenades we can advance still further; where we have not, we lose ground.

From Project Gutenberg

They came on as fast as ever, while our movement had checked our flight somewhat and caused us to lose ground perceptibly.

From Project Gutenberg

The Bohemian began to lose ground in the highest courts of justice; gradually it was forced out from the inferior courts.

From Project Gutenberg

I suppose they didn't want to lose ground by yawing, but as they came abreast of us they both opened fire.

From Project Gutenberg

The savages also, frightened by the noise of the cannon rather than their execution, commenced to lose ground.

From Project Gutenberg