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

The result means Norris, who also scored the point for fastest lap, reduced Verstappen’s championship lead by three points on a day he would have started expecting to lose ground.

From BBC

But the accounts given by survivors are an ominous warning of what could happen elsewhere in Myanmar as the military continues to lose ground to an increasingly confident and capable armed opposition movement.

From BBC

McIlroy entered the day three shots behind Schauffele, but managed to lose ground despite not making a bogey.

From Seattle Times

Individual business owners will continue to lose ground to highly-capitalized real estate interests unless we construct an economy where operating a small business is truly viable.

From Los Angeles Times

"The Ukrainian military will lose ground," says Dr Watling.

From BBC