down the drain

🌎Region: International 📊Difficulty Level:intermediate

💡Meaning

Wasted or lost completely, as if money/effort disappears with no result.

🕰️Origin

From the literal image of something being washed away into a sink/toilet drain and irretrievably lost; figuratively used for money, time, effort, or plans that come to nothing.

📝Notes

Means wasted/irretrievably lost. Often expresses frustration or disappointment. Common with money, time, effort, opportunities, or plans.

💬Examples

If we miss the deadline, all that work will go down the drain.
He spent years building his reputation, but one scandal sent it all down the drain.
I left the water running and watched my money go down the drain.
Without regular backups, a single crash can send your files down the drain.
She worried that skipping rehab would mean her progress was going down the drain.

📘Grammar & Usage Notes

Usually used after a verb (go/throw/pour/flush down the drain) or as a complement (be down the drain). Often with possessives: “my savings went down the drain.” Also appears as “down the drain” without “the” less commonly in some varieties.

🔗Synonyms

go to waste
be wasted
be squandered
go down the tubes
go out the window

↔️Antonyms

pay off
bear fruit
come to fruition
be worth it