go south
goh SOWTH
/ɡoʊ saʊθ/
To decline, deteriorate, or fail.
Often used to describe a situation, relationship, or market value that is worsening.
The story behind the word. This likely comes from the way maps are oriented, with North at the top and South at the bottom. On a graph, a line moving 'south' indicates a decrease in value or performance.
Word relationships
- deteriorate: 'Deteriorate' is a formal, clinical term for getting worse.
- improve: 'Improve' is the literal opposite of declining.
Commonly confused with
- go downhill: Both mean to worsen, but 'go south' is often used for sudden failures, while 'go downhill' implies a gradual decline.
Collocations
- quickly go south
- everything went south
- start to go south
Example sentences
- "The stock market went south after the news of the interest rate hike." Finance
- "Things started to go south in their partnership when they couldn't agree on the budget." Relationships
Memory hook
Think of a graph where the line is pointing down toward the bottom of the page. Down is bad.
When not to use
In a literal geographical context, it just means traveling toward the South Pole.
Fun facts
- Some etymologists suggest it may have roots in Native American mythology where 'south' was the direction of the underworld, but the 'graph' theory is more widely accepted in business.
Related words
Explore more words
deteriorate, degenerate, degradation, devalue, breakdown, descent
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.