come to grief

verb

To suffer a disastrous outcome.

“J. R. R. Tolkien These elves and half-elves and wizards, they would come to grief perhaps.”

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Meanings

verbcome to grief (third-person singular simple present comes to grief, present participle coming to grief, simple past came to grief, past participle come to grief)

present singular third person comes to grief · participle present coming to grief · past came to grief

  1. idiomaticTo suffer a disastrous outcome.

    J. R. R. Tolkien These elves and half-elves and wizards, they would come to grief perhaps.

    1 more example

    Immediately beyond Churn Lane the climb begins at 1 in 78, steepening to 1 in 66. Speed soon falls and a number of heavy hop-pickers' specials have come to grief here.

    1960 March, H. P. White, “The Hawkhurst branch of the Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 170

Translations

Finnish mennä pahasti pieleen, epäonnistua pahasti
  • mennä pahasti pieleento have a disastrous outcome
  • epäonnistua pahastito have a disastrous outcome
French exploser en vol
  • exploser en volto have a disastrous outcome
Hungarian pórul jár
  • pórul járto have a disastrous outcome
Polish lec w gruzach, legnąć w gruzach
  • lec w gruzachto have a disastrous outcome
  • legnąć w gruzachto have a disastrous outcome
Cite this entry
APA

come to grief. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20grief

MLA

“come to grief.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20grief. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come to grief,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20grief.

Source: come to grief on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.