Foundering

Pronunciation: /faʊndərɪŋ/

Definitions of foundering

verb to become disabled or unable to move, especially because of a breakdown or failure

Example Sentences

A1 The ship is foundering in the stormy sea.

A2 The company is foundering due to poor management decisions.

B1 The project is foundering because of a lack of funding.

B2 The team foundered after their star player was injured.

C1 The political party foundered after a series of scandals.

C2 The once successful business foundered when the CEO resigned.

Examples of foundering in a Sentence

formal The company is foundering due to mismanagement and lack of strategic planning.

informal The team's project is foundering because they can't agree on a direction to take.

slang The startup is foundering because they don't know how to pivot and adapt.

figurative Her relationship was foundering, but they managed to work through their issues and come out stronger.

Grammatical Forms of foundering

• past tense: foundered
• plural: founders
• comparative: more foundering
• superlative: most foundering
• present tense: founder
• future tense: will founder
• perfect tense: has foundered
• continuous tense: is foundering
• singular: founder
• positive degree: foundering
• infinitive: to founder
• gerund: foundering
• participle: foundering

Origin and Evolution of foundering

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Middle English

Story behind the word: The word 'foundering' originated from the Middle English word 'foundren' meaning to sink or collapse.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'foundering' has evolved to also mean to fail or break down, in addition to its original meaning of sinking or collapsing.