fight for one's life

English

Verb

fight for one's life (third-person singular simple present fights for one's life, present participle fighting for one's life, simple past and past participle fought for one's life)

1. (idiomatic) To be in danger of dying (as a result of injury, illness etc.).
2. (idiomatic, by extension) To be in a highly unfavorable situation; to be on the verge of failure or collapse.
   • 2023 March 15, Michael J. de la Merced, Maureen Farrell, “Credit Suisse to Borrow Up to $54 Billion From Central Bank”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Credit Suisse, the 166-year-old institution that was once an emblem of Swiss pride, is fighting for its life after investors, fearing that the bank would run out of money, dumped its stock and sent the price of insuring its debt against a default skyrocketing.

Related terms

• fight for someone's life

 

Translations

to be in danger of dying

• Finnish: taistella hengestään
• Hungarian: életéért küzd
• Polish: walczyć ze śmiercią (pl) impf
• Spanish: luchar con la muerte

Further reading

• “fight for one's life”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “fight for your life” (US) / “fight for your life” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.