let down — disappoint someone
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcore
To fail to do what someone expects, making them feel disappointed or upset.
Say it like a native
Textbook I do not wish to fail to meet your expectations.
Native I don't want to let you down.
'Let (someone) down' is the natural verb for disappointing. 'Fail to meet your expectations' is corporate.
Pattern: let sb down
In use
- I promised to help my friend move, but I let her down by not showing up.relationships
- In my opinion, it's important not to let your friends down, especially when they rely on you for support.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I'm sorry to let down you.
✓ I'm sorry to let you down.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle — 'let you down', not 'let down you'.
Common collocations
let + down— let me down, let the team down, badly, again
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'let someone go', which means to allow someone to leave.
Related
- let down (lower something) — Another meaning of 'let down' is 'lower something'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.