knell

R360 'would be death knell for club rugby around the world'

Now its crash was like a death knell.

UC President James B. Milliken said the announced cuts would be a “death knell for innovative work that saves lives, grows our economy and fortifies our national security.”

Industrial automation in the 1970s, for example, was considered the death knell for American manufacturing that would lead to waves of unemployment and the loss of U.S. economic leadership.

However, the big stores slowly suffered from falling profits and rising debt as more shoppers moved online - before the coronavirus lockdowns signalled the death knell to Debenhams and many other businesses.