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Synonyms

up against

Idioms  

  1. Contending or confronted with, as in I'm up against a strong opponent in this election. This idiom is also put as up against it, which means “in serious difficulty, especially in desperate financial straits.” For example, When the collection agency called again, we knew we were up against it. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Pereira is then seen moving the object, propping it up against the MI5 HQ doors, with a green cigarette lighter positioned nearby.

From BBC

Modern audiences brush up against directors trying to make 21st-century opera fresh.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We're up against teams who have been doing this for a very, very long time," Lowdon says.

From BBC

And your throat hitched up against your will and your eyes moistened and when they started with “USA! USA!” you gave up, gave in, and pumped your fist.

From The Wall Street Journal

Green, however, maintained that Trade Desk has an advantage because it’s not competing with its own customers the way Amazon must do when it sells companies advertising inventory but also operates an e-commerce marketplace that goes up against those customers.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.