to fight a losing battle against
1fight a losing battle — to try hard but fail. For years it seems we have been fighting a losing battle against poverty and hunger. In an old house, you re always fighting a losing battle with dust and dirt. Usage notes: sometimes used without fight: Many teachers feel… …
2fight a losing battle — be fated to fail in one s efforts he was fighting a losing battle to stem the tears * * * fight a ˌlosing ˈbattle f30 idiom to try to do sth that you will probably never succeed in doing • I m fighting a losing battle against the mess in this… …
3fighting a losing battle — phrase trying to achieve something that you will probably not be able to achieve Police are fighting a losing battle against the rising crime rate. Thesaurus: likely to failsynonym Main entry: fight …
4fight — fight1 W1S1 [faıt] v past tense and past participle fought [fo:t US fo:t] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(war)¦ 2¦(hit people)¦ 3¦(try to do something)¦ 4¦(prevent something)¦ 5¦(compete)¦ 6¦(argue)¦ 7¦(sport)¦ 8¦(emotion)¦ 9¦(law)¦ …
5battle — [[t]bæ̱t(ə)l[/t]] ♦♦ battles, battling, battled 1) N VAR A battle is a violent fight between groups of people, especially one between military forces during a war. ...the victory of King William III at the Battle of the Boyne. ...after a gun… …
6fight — fight1 [ faıt ] (past tense and past participle fought [ fɔt ] ) verb *** ▸ 1 use weapons ▸ 2 hit/kick/bite each other ▸ 3 disagree/argue ▸ 4 try hard to prevent something ▸ 5 try hard to achieve something ▸ 6 try not to show/do something ▸ 7… …
7fight — 1 /faIt/ past tense and past participle fought verb 1 WAR (I, T) to take part in a war or battle: Did your Uncle fight in the last war? | fight sb: Vietnam fought France and then the US over 30 years. (+ against/with): He fought against the… …
8battle — bat|tle1 [ bætl ] noun *** 1. ) count or uncount a fight between two armies in a war: one of the bloodiest battles of World War II battle of: the Battle of Waterloo in battle: soldiers wounded in battle a ) count a fight between two groups of… …
9battle — 1 noun (C) 1 BETWEEN ARMIES a fight between opposing armies, groups of ships etc, especially one that is part of a larger war: the Battle of Trafalgar | in/into battle: Her son was killed in battle. | sending troops into battle 2 BETWEEN… …
10fight — [[t]fa͟ɪt[/t]] ♦ fights, fighting, fought 1) VERB If you fight something unpleasant, you try in a determined way to prevent it or stop it happening. [V n] Mother Teresa is an elderly nun who has devoted her life to fighting poverty... [V n] More… …
