To come to nothing; to end up wasted or all for nothing (efforts or plans fail and leave no result).
台風のせいで準備してきたイベントが水泡に帰してしまった。
Because of the typhoon, the event we had prepared for came to nothing.
あれだけ時間をかけた研究が、予算カットで水泡に帰したと聞いて残念だ。
I'm sorry to hear that the research you spent so much time on came to nothing due to budget cuts.
交渉は最後の段階で条件が変わり、すべて水泡に帰した。
Negotiations fell through at the final stage when the terms changed, and everything came to nothing.