phrase

• 1Boxing
  Pretend to be knocked out.

  ‘Many observers questioned whether Sonny Liston took a dive in his second fight against Ali.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘He would later claim he took a dive in his fight with Willard in Havana, Cuba.’
  • ‘The reputation of the most feared heavyweight of his day lay in tatters after Liston took a dive in his second title bout against Cassius Clay in 1965.’
  • ‘Having seen the film it is not too difficult to understand why general consensus was that Willie took a dive.’
  • ‘Manny was fighting and the opponent would just fall, and it looked like they were taking dives.’

  1. 1.1(of prices, hopes, fortunes, etc.) fall suddenly.
     ‘profits could take a dive as easily as they could soar’
     More example sentences

     • ‘her reputation took a dive from which it has not recovered’
     • ‘On Thursday the share price took a dive to 54p before recovering to 70p.’
     • ‘Thorpe's hopes for a clean sweep of the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle also took a dive today after he qualified slowest for tomorrow's 100m final.’
     • ‘However, his profile took a dive and by the middle of the decade, he had disappeared from public view entirely.’
     • ‘Over the next several years, business took a dive.’
     • ‘The deal-making cooled off in the spring as the stock markets took a dive, slowing to a low of $78.7 billion in April.’
     • ‘My productivity, along with that of my coworkers, took a dive.’
     • ‘When the sugar market took a dive in 2000, some investors quickly fled and a number of plants were put on the block.’
     • ‘Fast forward eight months, and rational or not, consumer confidence is taking a dive.’
     • ‘In effect, his only risk is if the US stock market takes a dive.’
     • ‘You don't have to worry about losing your money if the market takes a dive.’
     Synonyms

     fall sharply, fall steeply, plummet, plunge, dive, nosedive, take a dive, fall off a cliff, drop rapidly, slump, slide, fall, decrease, decline