to stack up against
- phrasal verb
- /stæ k ʌp əˈɡɛnst/
:
acumularse en contra de
- The amount of pollution from this factory stacks up against the potential harm to nearby wildlife.
The man could not be broken and everything was stacked up against them.
- The man could not be broken and everything was stacked up against them.
Examples
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Until now, it's been unclear how biodiversity losses stack up against other human-caused environmental changes that affect ecosystem health and productivity.
Blog text (12) -
Their arguments really stack up against his, making it hard for him to defend his position.
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We need to see how our new policy stacks up against current regulations before implementation.
Synonyms
83
3.1
To put things on top of each other until they make a heap
2
5.6
To be a disadvantage compared with another thing
How Damaging
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses a clear spatial/comparative image—physically 'stacking' things 'up' and placing them 'against' each other—so a learner can partially infer a sense of comparison or measuring. However, the idiomatic use as a phrasal verb meaning 'to compare or measure up against' is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the parts, so a B1 learner who knows the words may still need exposure to confirm the exact sense.
Etymology
Stack up against gives the image of problems or pieces of evidence being stacked up and leaning against someone until it becomes too much. That's why it means 'to build up in a way that hurts or makes things unfair for someone'.