throw in the towel

1. To quit in defeat. The phrase comes from boxing, in which a fighter indicates surrender by throwing a towel into the ring: “After losing the election, he threw in the towel on his political career.”

Related Words

• abandon
• capitulate
• cede
• commit
• concede
• give in
• hand over
• leave
• quit
• relinquish
• renounce
• submit
• succumb
• waive
• yield