Phrase guide

what goes up must come down

proverb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

proverb

Meaning 1

All trends will end; a rise (in the stock market, in a person's political or social influence, etc.) will be followed by a fall.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

proverb

Meaning 2

Substance induced euphoria is followed by withdrawal (often used to describe stimulants though same applies to many other drugs).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese: 盛者必衰 (shèngzhěbìshuāi) — Translations
  • Japanese: 盛(じょう)者(しゃ)必(ひっ)衰 (jōshahissui) — Translations
  • Polish: fortuna kołem się toczy — Translations
  • Polish: raz na wozie, raz pod wozem — Translations