take a dive

present singular third person takes a dive · participle present taking a dive · past took a dive · participle past taken a dive

1. To decline rapidly.

   Other broad market gauges took even steeper dives, with the Standard & Poor's 500, which includes financial stocks, falling 9.93%.

   2008 December 1, John Curran, “The Recession Is Made Official — and Stocks Take a Dive”, in Time

2. idiomaticboxingTo feign a knockout in order to lose intentionally.

   "You got a fight next weekend. You take a dive in the fourth round, understand?"

   2012, Gary Lovisi, “Boxing, Babes & Bullets”, in Battling Boxing Stories, Wildside Press LLC, →ISBN, page 165

   2 more examples

   I decided there could be a nice bit of irony in a situation where a boxer, with a crown his for the taking, deliberately takes a dive to get revenge on the man he hates, who is betting everything on the boxer's victory.

   1950, Jules Archer, I Sell What I Write, page 44

   The businessman turned promoter rejected some of overseas rumors going around that Klitschko bet a large portion of funds on himself and then took a dive to collect.

   2015 December 31, Vadim Pushkin, “Povetkin Promoter Praises Fury, Rejects Klitschko Dive Claim”, in Boxing Scene, retrieved 03 Aug 2016

3. idiomaticTo lose or fail intentionally.