hit the skids

verb

To fail; to decline.

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Meanings

verbhit the skids (third-person singular simple present hits the skids, present participle hitting the skids, simple past and past participle hit the skids)

present singular third person hits the skids · participle present hitting the skids

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo fail; to decline.

    After all, if these measures could've succeeded, they would've been implemented five years ago when the world economy hadn't yet hit the skids.

    2010, Ganesh Rathnam, Mises Daily, “A Greek Tragedy in the Making”, in Mises Institute
    2 more examples

    A metaverse backlash, already fully rooted, began to bloom. Microsoft’s military contract hit the skids, Disney laid off its entire metaverse team, and even Zuckerberg’s own employees seem not to have much time for the technology.

    2023 June 6, Ian Bogost, “The Age of Goggles Has Arrived”, in The Atlantic

    “We don’t know anyone whose marriage hit the skids after just a few years,” Celia said, reflecting on her divorce. “Everyone seemed to cling on to their relationships for as long as they possibly could.”

    2026 September 27, Amelia Hill, “‘I turbocharged my career then pressed eject’: why couples are getting divorced later”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Cite this entry
APA

hit the skids. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit%20the%20skids

MLA

“hit the skids.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit%20the%20skids. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hit the skids,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit%20the%20skids.

Source: hit the skids on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.