Meaning & use
downhill from here
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Used to say that the hardest part is finished and what remains will be easier.
Grammar: Often follows 'be' or 'be all': It's downhill from here.
Patterns
- it is downhill from here
- be all downhill from here
We have finished the difficult first stage, so it is downhill from here.
Once you pass the practical exam, the rest of the course is downhill from here.
phrasefixed phrase
Used to say that things will only get worse from this point on.
Grammar: Usually said with a sad or warning tone; the context shows which meaning you intend.
Patterns
- it is all downhill from here
- go downhill from here
The team lost its best player, and it has been downhill from here.
Sales were strong in spring, but it was downhill from here for the rest of the year.
Common combinations
- be downhill from here
- The worst of the storm has passed, so it should be downhill from here.
- all downhill from here
- After the first week, the job was all downhill from here.
- it's downhill from here
- Don't worry about the last few questions; it's downhill from here.
- go downhill from here
- The business started to go downhill from here.
Synonyms and how they differ
- plain sailing
- Means the same as the easy sense, but describes smooth progress rather than a point where difficulty ends.
- get worse
- A plain verb phrase for the negative sense; it does not suggest that a point has been reached.
Opposites
Commonly confused: downhill from here or go downhill?
downhill from here vs go downhill
Means to become worse in general, with no idea of a turning point; 'downhill from here' points to a specific moment in a process.
Practice
After the hardest chapter, the rest of the book was ______.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'downhill from here', meaning the remaining part is easier. 'Down the hill from here' is a literal direction, and 'downhill of here' is not an English pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “downhill from here”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.