fall on a grenade

verb

To sacrifice oneself for the sake of others.

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Meanings

verbfall on a grenade (third-person singular simple present falls on a grenade, present participle falling on a grenade, simple past fell on a grenade, past participle fallen on a grenade)

present singular third person falls on a grenade · participle present falling on a grenade · past fell on a grenade · participle past fallen on a grenade

  1. idiomaticinformalTo sacrifice oneself for the sake of others.

    It is unrealistic in most project settings to expect a team member to “fall on a grenade” to sacrifice his life for the sake of his teammates.

    2007, George Pitagorsky, The Zen Approach to Project Management
    1 more example

    Another longtime Gore adviser says: "Nobody would fall on a grenade for him. People respect him but don't love him. He just doesn't inspire that kind of loyalty."

    2000, U.S. News & World Report, volume 129, numbers 1-8, page 99
Cite this entry
APA

fall on a grenade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20on%20a%20grenade

MLA

“fall on a grenade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20on%20a%20grenade. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fall on a grenade,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20on%20a%20grenade.

Source: fall on a grenade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.