2something that causes a complete failure or loss of someone’s money, moral standards, social position etc 造成破产[堕落,衰败,垮台等]的原因
be somebody’s downfall
an addiction to gambling that proved to be her downfall
最后导致她堕落的赌瘾
Examples from the Corpus
downfall• As long as there is an alternative, over-pricing ultimately brings its own downfall.• One bad investment eventually led to Roberts' downfall.• Greed would later prove to be Barnett's downfall.• Finally, there remaineddifferences of approach between the various forces which had contributed to the Shah's downfall.• Later, they seized the town and contributed to the downfall of the Empire.• People are quick to slap that label on you, and then just as eager to predict your downfall.
led to ... downfall• A series of failed ventures based on his hobbies of collectingclassicsports cars and aircraftled to his downfall.• He reflected on the options which had been open to him, one of which had led to his downfall.• Maybe it wasn't the body after all that led to Mellor's downfall.• It was this which led to his downfall.