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THE IDIOM COLLECTION LEARN & PRACTISE

Fight a losing battle

Understand the meaning. See it in context. Make it yours.

01 / UNDERSTAND

Meaning in plain English

To keep trying hard at something when success is impossible or no longer realistically achievable.

02 / SEE IT IN CONTEXT

The expression in a sentence

  1. Without fixing the leaking pipe, we were fighting a losing battle to keep the floor dry.

03 / CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Quick idiom quiz

Try the question without looking back, then write a sentence of your own. You can retry as often as you like.

Can you recall the expression?

Which expression from this lesson matches this meaning?

To keep trying hard at something when success is impossible or no longer realistically achievable.
Show the answer

Fight a losing battle — To keep trying hard at something when success is impossible or no longer realistically achievable.

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Make it yours

Write one sentence using “Fight a losing battle” about your own life.

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Does your sentence match this meaning?

To keep trying hard at something when success is impossible or no longer realistically achievable.

Compare: Without fixing the leaking pipe, we were fighting a losing battle to keep the floor dry.

Check the spelling and how the expression fits the sentence. Your example can be different.

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More ways to understand and use it

When to use it

Use it when an effort seems futile under the current conditions. It has a discouraged or critical tone, so avoid using it to dismiss a solvable difficulty.

More examples in context

  • I was fighting a losing battle trying to keep the papers still with every window open.
  • The team felt it was fighting a losing battle against a deadline that had already passed.

Usage note

An uphill battle is difficult but may still be won. A losing battle suggests the current effort cannot succeed, so a different approach may be needed.

A short conversation

A: We keep wiping up the water, but it returns immediately.
B: We are fighting a losing battle until the leak is fixed.
A: Let us arrange the repair now.

One more practice question

Which effort is a losing battle under the stated conditions?

A. Keeping a repaired floor dry after the leak has stopped.
B. Trying to keep a floor dry while water continues pouring onto it from an unrepaired leak.

Check your answer

B. The continuing cause prevents the current effort from succeeding.

Related lessons

Meaning and usage checked against Cambridge Dictionary. Explanations, examples and conversation are original.

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