fight a losing battle

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

fight a losing battle (third-person singular simple present fights a losing battle, present participle fighting a losing battle, simple past and past participle fought a losing battle)

1. To continue to wage war when it is clear that one is not going to win.
2. (idiomatic) To try to do something so difficult that it will probably end in failure.
   • 1984, Lucy Gore, Diary Of A Working Mum, page 18:

     The bus was oppressively warm and the air-conditioning was fighting a losing battle with the heat.

Synonyms

• fight a rearguard action