hill to die on

noun

An issue to pursue with a wholehearted conviction or a single-minded focus, with little or no regard to the cost and no intent of equivocation or compromise.

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Meanings

nounhill to die on (plural hills to die on)

plural hills to die on

  1. idiomaticAn issue to pursue with a wholehearted conviction or a single-minded focus, with little or no regard to the cost and no intent of equivocation or compromise.

    Is correct laundry folding really a hill to die on?

    2009, Kevin Leman, Under the Sheets: The Secrets to Hot Sex in Your Marriage, Revell, published 2009, →ISBN, page 179
    2 more examples

    "I'm sorry, Alisha. I can't overrule the European director's decision to move you out of her arena. This isn't a hill to die on. […]

    2006, Cate Dermody, The Firebird Deception, Silhouette Books, published 2006, →ISBN, page 113

    Though I simply apologized and told him his ranting wasn't necessary. He made a bad decision. I made a good one. As livid as I was, I realized this situation was not a hill to die on.

    2010, Deborah Smith Pegues, Ricky Temple, Why Smart People Make Dumb Choices, Harvest House Publishers, published 2010, →ISBN, page 49

Origin

An allusion to the instances where a military doggedly pursues a goal or defends a position no matter the cost or (lack of) benefit, typically involving a hill (high ground). Examples include Battle of Hamburger Hill, Battle of Thermopylae, and Last Stand Hill.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hill to die on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hill%20to%20die%20on

MLA

“hill to die on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hill%20to%20die%20on. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hill to die on,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hill%20to%20die%20on.

Source: hill to die on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.