Idiom
Weather the storm
To weather the storm is to get through a difficult period or crisis without being badly harmed.
How people use it
It is used for hard times in business, health, relationships or money: the shop weathered the storm of the recession. Weather here is a verb meaning to come through safely. It suggests endurance and survival rather than winning. The tone is neutral, so it works in news and formal writing as well as conversation. You can also weather a crisis, a scandal or a rough patch.
Also said: ride out the storm.
Examples
- The small bakery weathered the storm when a big chain store opened across the street.
- Their marriage weathered the storm of two job losses in one year.
- If we cut costs now, we can weather the storm until sales pick up.
Where it comes from
It comes from sailing. To weather a storm meant for a ship to come safely through bad weather, and weather has been used as a verb in this sense since the 1600s. The figurative use for surviving any kind of trouble followed naturally.
Check yourself
1. What does it mean if a company weathered the storm?
Answer: It survived a hard time. Weather the storm means come through a crisis safely.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: The farm weathered the storm of a dry summer and still made a profit.. The idiom means surviving trouble, not closing down or checking the weather.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in STORM.