mountain to climb
1
5.2
- noun
- Informal
:
gran desafío
- He has a big mountain to climb if he wants to finish this project on time.
- a big mountain to climb
- a steep mountain to climb
One, how do they know which mountain to climb?
- One, how do they know which mountain to climb?
- That's a really, really tough mountain to climb.
- Without chaos, there will be no armies to fight, no mountains to climb, with Dragons to slay.
- I've always felt like, like there's another mountain to climb and my, the people who find contentment.
Examples
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It seems like there's a huge mountain to climb here, but on the flip side, ASUS's innovative differentiation does have some advantages.
Blog text (7) -
Alas, it is all relative, and I guess we all have our mountains to climb.
Blog text (31) -
So if anything, the ball will be in her court, but she has a very tall mountain to climb to get my vote.
Blog text (9) -
And now we, we, we create a bigger mountain to climb to overcome this issue and to get back to a healthy place.
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In the military arena, the EU and its member states have a mountain to climb.
Academic text (2000) -
Well, that was true all along; the challenger always has the highest mountain to climb.
Blog text (27) -
I think there's still a very high mountain to climb with respect to the military at large to ensure that they would feel comfortable with this process.
Blog text (27) -
For every confident risk-taker, there's always a bigger mountain to climb.
Blog text (32) -
I mean I'm not a pessimist, but that's a tall mountain to climb.
Blog text (29) -
"Coming into this game, we had a big mountain to climb," said Attinella, who grew up in Clearwater and won titles during his time at Countryside High School and at USF.
Blog text (5)
Synonyms
∞
3.1
A difficult task that tests a person's skill and will
88
3.8
An obstacle or problem you must overcome
25
6.6
A difficult task that needs a lot of effort to succeed
16
6.9
A task that is very hard to do
9
3.7
The most difficult problem you must overcome
4
5.3
A situation or task that is hard to do
3
7.2
A task that is so difficult people think it cannot be done
2
6.8
A difficult task that needs a lot of effort
1
5.9
A very large and difficult job that needs a lot of time and effort
A difficult problem that needs careful handling
A difficult challenge you must get past to do well
Antonyms
How Difficult
1
8.1
- Informal
1
5.2
∞
3.1
∞
1.2
6
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase directly combines 'mountain' (a large obstacle) with 'to climb' (an action of ascending), so a learner who knows both words can easily map this to a large task or challenge to overcome. The metaphorical use is conventional and cross-linguistically familiar, making the meaning readily inferable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Mountain to climb gives a simple picture: imagine a tall, steep mountain you must climb, which needs a lot of work and time. That's why the phrase means 'a difficult challenge'.