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Glite Dictionary
to slug it out

to slug it out

7 8.0
Fight or compete hard until one side wins
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : pelear
  • No one sees us slugging it out in the courtroom.

We're going to get naked and we're going to get oiled up and you and I are going to slug it out.

Examples

  • The individual defendants, as well as the firm itself, have denied the Justice Department's charges, and indications are that they intend to slug it out with the government all the way to trial.

    Academic text (2006)

  • It's not easy to slug it out with the big boys.

    Spider's Web (2002)

  • I think you two should go ahead and slug it out.

    Lost in Space (1998)

  • The two men slug it out as a fire starts.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The players need to slug it out on their own.

    Blog text (3)

  • It's time to take the gloves off and slug it out with them.

    Blog text (16)

  • The two Kirks are still slugging it out as McCoy starts to come around.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners have been slugging it out in epic two-on-two battles since September.

    Blog text (33)

  • Clinton, Bush, and Perot are slugging it out for the presidency.

  • The presidential nominees were slugging it out Monday in battleground Rust Belt states.

Synonyms

to fight
vsto slug it out
∞ 1.0

To try hard to oppose or overcome something difficult

keeps fighting until a clear winner is decided by determined effort
to battle
vsto slug it out
372 2.7

To fight against someone or something for a long time

is more about determined competition that ends with a decided winner
to wrestle
vsto slug it out
123 1.8

To struggle physically by holding and trying to push someone or something down

emphasizes prolonged determined contest aiming to decide a clear winner
to go at it
vsto slug it out
  • Informal
56 6.7

Act with a lot of energy, often fighting, arguing, or working hard

adds the idea of lasting determination until a winner is settled
to tussle
vsto slug it out
7 5.3

To fight roughly with another person at close range

focuses more on determined competition lasting until one side wins
to go to the mat
vsto slug it out
  • Informal
5 7.6

Argue strongly to protect an idea or position

is similar but stresses ongoing contest until one side wins

Antonyms

to give up
∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

to retreat
235 4.0

To move back from a place or plan to avoid danger

How Fierce

to slug it out
  • Informal
7 8.0
to fight
∞ 1.0
to argue
607 1.1
to compete
983 2.6

Surface Forms

slug it out infinitive
slugged it out past
slugged it out past participle
slugging it out present participle
slugs it out third person singular

Morphology

slug + it + out

Knowing 'slug' (a heavy blow) plus the particle 'out' and the dummy pronoun 'it' lets a learner infer a sense of exchanging blows or fighting until resolved, so there is a clear compositional cue. However, the phrase functions as an idiomatic phrasal verb whose syntax and exact contestive meaning are somewhat conventional and not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The verb slug it out comes from boxing and old street fights: a slug was a heavy punch, so two people would keep trading hard blows until one stopped. That's why it means 'to fight or compete until a winner is decided'.