fight to the finish

plural fights to the finish

1. A competition in which both parties continue until one side is unequivocally defeated.

   Pei Ling Wu, 30, said: "I am worried about my family, but they do not want to leave Taiwan. They want to defend their country and fight to the end. If China continues to push us, independence is the only solution."

   [1996 March 15, Leyla Linton, “London students sing their defiance”, in The Times, number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas News, page 14, column 2

   Synonyms: fight to the death