to rise to the challenge
- idiom
- The Scots, unaccustomed to receiving anything from the South but armed invasions and political interference, had risen to the challenge magnificently.
- West rose to the challenge
- States rose to the challenge
- United States rose to the challenge
May you use your learning to advance the pursuit of truth and understanding, to improve the lives of others, and to rise to the challenges of our troubled world.
- May you use your learning to advance the pursuit of truth and understanding, to improve the lives of others, and to rise to the challenges of our troubled world.
- Like rising to the challenge and treating your competition and taking them seriously is actually how you win.
Examples
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When faced with unexpected difficulties, she always rises to the challenge and finds a way to succeed.
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Girardi said he was hoping any number of players might rise to the challenge.
Blog text (11) -
Keep cool in a crisis, rise to the challenge, find solutions.
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Only then can we rise to the challenge.
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To its credit, the United States rose to the challenge.
Academic text (2009) -
Great managers rise to the challenge.
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But, as a service provider operating in such difficult economic times, how can you rise to the challenge?
Academic text (2010) -
Will this teen rise to the challenge?
Fiction book (2001) -
The only way that we can reach our true potential... is when we rise to the challenges that life throws to us.
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I haven't met a school class yet that does not rise to the challenge of a classroom design activity.
Academic text (2007)
Synonyms
To survive after danger or a serious problem
To take responsibility and act when a difficult situation happens
To accept a difficult task to test yourself
To accept a challenge and try to meet it
Do well when you feel pressure
To face a difficult task bravely and try your best
To face a difficult problem directly and work hard to solve it
To keep trying and do well despite difficult times
To deal with difficult situations calmly and successfully
Manage to get through a difficult situation
To move forward despite strong opposition or many difficulties
Gather the courage to face a hard task
Antonyms
How Well
Surface Forms
Morphology
The overall meaning is a metaphorical extension of 'rise' (move up/ improve) applied to 'challenge' (difficult task), so knowledge of the constituents gives a partial clue. However, the specific sense 'respond successfully and with determination' depends on the idiomatic use of the verb + noun collocation ('rise to' meaning 'meet/respond to'), which is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Rise to the challenge creates a clear image: the verb rise is like climbing up and the challenge is a high wall or hard task you must face. So, like stepping up to a wall, it now means 'to do well when something is difficult'.