fall by the wayside

Idioms

Fail to continue, drop out, as in At first she did well on the tour, but with all the pressure she soon fell by the wayside. This phrase appeared in William Tyndale's translation of the New Testament (1526; Luke 8:5).

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

To better understand the product, Liu biked to work during Giant's first few years, but the habit fell by the wayside as the company grew.

From Barron's

Other long-standing arms control treaties have already fallen by the wayside.

From BBC

Some big names did fall by the wayside, with Italian champions Napoli being bundled out along with three former champions in Marseille, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax.

From Barron's

As the skies over Switzerland darken with the usual billionaires’ jets, the old Davos agenda is falling by the wayside.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was agreed last month by European Union leaders who settled on a loan backed by the bloc's common budget, after plans to tap frozen Russian central bank assets fell by the wayside.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023