down the drain

The phrase "down the drain" is commonly used to describe something wasted or lost beyond recovery, often used in informal contexts.

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Definition

B2General

(informal)Wasted or lost beyond recovery.

Example

All our hard work went down the drain when the project was canceled.
His savings went down the drain after the stock market crash.

Similar

Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "down the drain":

go down the toilet drain out out the window well drain down the banks go down wash down up the spout down the wind rinse down wash out down the way rush out throw away water down down the road fall through