go up against

verb

To challenge someone.

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Meanings

verbgo up against (third-person singular simple present goes up against, present participle going up against, simple past went up against, past participle gone up against)

present singular third person goes up against · participle present going up against · past went up against · participle past gone up against

  1. To challenge someone.

    May 27, 2007, Jamie Doward, The Observer.Jail head rejects shared cells plan. The Director-General of the Prison Service is ready to go up against ministers by resisting any government plan to force more prisoners to share cells.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
measure swords with
Cite this entry
APA

go up against. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20up%20against

MLA

“go up against.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20up%20against. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go up against,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20up%20against.

Source: go up against on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.