Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

go belly-up

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.09 in modern English

Syllables
go -bel-ly-up
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To die.

Informal

verb

To fail or fold; especially, to be closed or shut down, or go out of business.

Informal

Example Sentences

Etymology

From the tendency of fish to float upside down when they die.

Usage

Inflected Forms

goes belly-up (present, singular) going belly-up (participle, present) went belly-up (past) gone belly-up (participle, past)

Synonyms

go bankrupt

Questions

What does go belly-up mean?
To die.
Where does go belly-up come from?
From the tendency of fish to float upside down when they die.

How to pronounce go belly-up

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “go belly-up”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “go belly-up”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “go belly-up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.