toe-to-toe
10
7.0
- idiom
- /ˈtoʊ tə ˈtoʊ/
- Informal
:
cara a cara
- Peter and Matthew stood in the road at the foot of Pali House's driveway, toe-to-toe in argument.
- go toe-to-toe
- stand toe-to-toe
Sometimes that means go into a courtroom and go toe to toe with them and and beat them.
- Sometimes that means go into a courtroom and go toe to toe with them and and beat them.
- Then Stefan and Forrest got in there and just went toe to toe in this unbelievable slugfest live on free television when cable still mattered.
Examples
-
I'd like you to go toe-to-toe with me for the next 48-odd minutes.
Blog text (22) -
But if Dawson plans on winning on Saturday night, he's going to have to be able to fight Ward toe-to-toe for a certain amount of time to prove to the judges who the better fighter is between them.
Blog text (5) -
Sometimes that means go into a courtroom and go toe to toe with them and and beat them.
-
"For the first time, we can go toe-to-toe, dollar-for-dollar with them.
Academic text (1994) -
Even if Arizona is trading blows for the first half and standing toe to toe, their defense will start failing in the second half.
Blog text (7) -
His story is an inspiration to anyone who's dreamed of going toe-to-toe with the big banks and winning.
Blog text (32) -
When you're the underdog, you don't go toe-to-toe with the big guy.
Blog text (9) -
They were frustrating times, not totally devoid of some satisfaction when we went toe-to-toe with the bureaucracy.
Blog text (28) -
All this has since been fought out in the academic journals, with Alan Reynolds standing toe-to-toe with Piketty and Saez, critiquing their work every step of the way.
Blog text (28) -
The two contestants went toe-to-toe during the debate, fiercely arguing their points.
Synonyms
31
3.7
In direct competition with another person or team
23
7.0
People argue or fight angrily with each other
18
5.4
Physical fighting that happens very close to someone
14
6.8
In direct competition or argument with someone
5
3.8
During very close fighting when people stand next to each other
Antonyms
How Confrontational
Surface Forms
Etymology
Toe-to-toe comes from the picture of two people standing so close that each person's toe almost 'touches' the other's, like boxers facing each other in a match. So to go toe-to-toe means to meet someone directly and strongly, without backing down.