lose ground

Related to lose ground: so much for, lost ground, loose ground

lose ground

To lose a previously held advantage or lead. His terrible performance in the debate caused him to lose ground to his opponent. I'm worried that we're losing ground in our bid to host the next Olympics. Scientists continue to warn that we're losing ground in the race to reduce climate change.
See also: ground, lose
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

lose ground (to someone or something)

to fall behind someone or something. I am losing ground to Wendy in the sales contest. We were losing ground to the opposite team in our quest for the trophy.
See also: ground, lose
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

lose ground

Fail to hold one's position; fall behind, deteriorate. For example, The Democrats were losing ground in this district, or We thought Grandma was getting better, but now she's quickly losing ground. This expression originally referred to territory lost by a retreating army. [Second half of 1700s]
See also: ground, lose
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

lose ground

COMMON If someone or something loses ground, they lose some of the power or advantage that they had previously. There is no doubt that the city has lost ground in the race to establish itself as a financial centre for Europe. The Socialists lost ground in some areas such as the Cote d'Azur and parts of the Languedoc. Compare with gain ground.
See also: ground, lose
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

give/lose ˈground (to somebody/something)

allow somebody/something to obtain more power, influence, etc. than yourself: The government has lost ground to the opposition, according to the opinion polls.
See also: give, ground, lose
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • give/lose ground
  • lose ground to (someone or something)
  • lose face
  • lose face, to
  • lose it
  • lose it, to
  • lose one's shirt, to
  • lose (one's) head over (something)
  • lose (one's) v-card
  • lose your head
References in periodicals archive
The record oil prices saw British Airways lose ground, falling 7p to 277.25, with FTSE 250 Index airline Easyjet also losing 12.5p to 442.5p.
LONDON MARKET; In association with BUSINESS ...VENTURE
A blunder saw the David Pipe-trained gelding lose ground at Cheltenham in November and on his last outing at Chepstow he made the frame while not quite being able to match the winner.
Horse Racing: Bily to hit bullseye
(NASDAQ: ROIA) has watched its stock lose ground recently.
Measured moves ahead: most black-owned stocks gained ground in the first half of the decade
How Higher Education Is Failing America, when a press release crossed my desk that grabbed my attention with the headline: "Higher Education Stalled Despite High School Improvements; Students, Families Lose Ground on College Affordability."
The growing two-class education system
The patterns in the teacher assessments mirror those in the test-score data: black and Hispanic students start out substantially below whites, and black students lose ground over the first two years of school, whereas Hispanics maintain their position relative to whites.
Fallin behind: as children move through school, the black-white achievement gap expands
Multilateral negotiations lose ground in light of the abundance of bilateral pacts, a massive avalanche of agreements and proposals for deals that Rosas calls "tratadismo" or treaty-ism.
Buck-naked Emperors in Cancun