foundered

verb

past tense of founder
1
as in collapsed
to be unsuccessful the theater company foundered after its corporate funding dried up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tumbled
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure the twin towers started to sway and suddenly foundered

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of foundered Previous attempts to reach an agreement have foundered amid mutual suspicion and each side's insistence that the other must move first. — Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA Today, 31 July 2026 Water rushed in through the openings, and the ship foundered so quickly that most of the 500 men onboard were lost. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 July 2026 On screen, some of our best artists have foundered in translation. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 June 2026 But the president didn’t make clear why a federal takeover of a small airline that has foundered for years would be an efficient use of capital or benefit American taxpayers. — Editorial, Boston Herald, 2 May 2026 Authentic specializes in acquiring and investing in famous retail properties that have foundered. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026 The site contains remains from multiple vessels, suggesting a history of merchant ships that likely foundered in the same treacherous area while approaching the shore. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 28 Mar. 2026 Courts have interpreted Section 230 immunity broadly, and many earlier attempts to hold platforms accountable for child harm have foundered on it. — Carolina Rossini, The Conversation, 26 Mar. 2026 The Eagles entered the 2025 season with a top-tier roster and foundered with an insufficient offensive system. — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foundered
  1. collapsed
  2. tumbled
  3. flopped
  4. went
  5. failed
  6. folded
  7. struggled
Verb
  • Although the market has adapted and prices have remained relatively low considering the historic supply shock during the war, that’s in large part because demand for oil collapsed and China drew down its massive oil stockpiles.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • But he was forced to apologize after his plans to form a subsidiary to run the tournament, which would have opened the door for investors to buy stakes of up to ​20% in a spinout firm, collapsed after widespread backlash across the sport.
    — Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of collapsed
Verb
  • Oil prices tumbled at the start of the week on optimism that a deal to reopen the strait could be imminent.
    — Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Peloton shares tumbled nearly 13% in morning trading Thursday as the outlook disappointed investors.
    — Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of tumbled
Verb
  • The left is still on the verge of historic wins in Michigan (though Kyle Blomquist, the Democratic Socialists of America’s candidate, flopped in the mostly rural 1st District, where Republicans are favored to win in November).
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026
  • For Stearns, trades that were well regarded at last year’s deadline almost universally flopped, as did January’s acquisition of Freddy Peralta.
    — Tim Britton, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of flopped
Verb
  • At the beginning of the year, some volunteers within Coppell ISD went door-to-door to recruit and keep students in public education.
    — Lacey Beasley, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The 22-year-old went from playing in the fourth tier of English football to getting an unexpected call from national team head coach Sarina Wiegman.
    — Emily Olsen, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of went
Verb
  • Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have failed, most recently in 2015.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • That would guarantee exclusive 45-day theatrical windows and a moratorium on distributing the movies on streaming services for at least 90 days, with potentially financial penalties if Paramount failed to hold up its end of the bargain.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of failed
Verb
  • And Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White would put up historical numbers for a few games before the league eventually folded for good out of shame.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The crease in the middle when the paper is folded is the problem here.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of folded
Verb
  • People half his age with serious mountain experience struggled and marvelled at him leading them to the top.
    — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Whisenhunt had struggled in his last three starts leading up to Tuesday, allowing 14 earned runs and walking nine batters over his last 11 2/3 innings.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of struggled

Browse Nearby Words

founder
foundered
foundering
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Foundered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foundered. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on foundered

Nglish: Translation of foundered for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of salvo

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All