go belly-up

verb

To die.

“I was sorry to hear that my favorite little restaurant went belly-up.”

Similar
go bankrupt
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Meanings

verbgo belly-up (third-person singular simple present goes belly-up, present participle going belly-up, simple past went belly-up, past participle gone belly-up)

present singular third person goes belly-up · participle present going belly-up · past went belly-up · participle past gone belly-up

  1. informalTo die.
  2. informalTo fail or fold; especially, to be closed or shut down, or go out of business.

    I was sorry to hear that my favorite little restaurant went belly-up.

    Synonyms: go bankrupt

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo fail or fold; especially, to be closed or shut down, or go out of business.

Similar
go bankrupt
Also see
go bankruptgo bust

Origin

From the tendency of fish to float upside down when they die.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

go belly-up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20belly-up

MLA

“go belly-up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20belly-up. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go belly-up,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20belly-up.

Source: go belly-up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.