race to the bottom

race to the bottom (plural races to the bottom)

1. (economics) A situation in which competition between governments leads to very excessive (harmful) deregulation.
2. A situation in which competition between entities leads to elimination of perks or amenities, often in the interest of cutting costs.
3. Any situation in which multiple parties are seemingly competing to achieve the greatest level of mediocrity.

• race to the top

• “race to the bottom”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “race to the bottom” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “race to the bottom” (US) / “race to the bottom” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.