toe to toe
14
6.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
cara a cara
- But the difference in this debate is that President Obama stood toe to toe with the challenge.
- go toe to toe
He was able to go toe to toe with a nuclear madman.
- He was able to go toe to toe with a nuclear madman.
- Don't tell me you can't go toe to toe with them.
- Get out there and go toe to toe with that man, huh?
- It works way better than you'd probably expect, but one that wasn't ready to go toe to toe with Apple's Airpods.
- He is a first rank philosopher and she sort of went toe to toe with him on some of his key ideas.
- Like when you are fighting the largest empire in the world, the idea that you're going to go toe to toe with them is impossible.
- But I don't really know what Biden means when when he says, well, I'm the one who went toe to toe with him.
- So it's us toe to toe with the big guys saying we are going to build a fighter jet powered by Rai.
- But but I've never gotten an opportunity to go toe to toe with someone like De Niro in a way that I get to in this movie.
- If I go toe to toe on facts, it is the same as trying to convert somebody from Android to Apple or Apple to Android, OK.
- And obviously now we've gone toe to toe, like we've switched off our radios.
Examples
-
You know, I always wondered what would have happened if you and I had gone toe to toe in the yard.
Fiction book (1994) -
I agree that we need to train our children to go "toe-to-toe" with their bully.
Blog text (6) -
Once more, they were toe to toe.
Fiction book (1993) -
Why you going toe-to-toe with this guy?
-
Bill stood directly in front of El, toe to toe with her.
Fiction book (1995) -
I can at least respect them for standing toe to toe and arguing with what they have.
Blog text (4) -
Neither man moves as they stand toe to toe in the center of the carpet.
Fiction book (1993) -
You ready to go toe-to-toe with the biggest kingpin in Atlanta?
-
The only way Marquez can win is to fight toe to toe with Pacquiao.
Blog text (28) -
In the final match, the two champions went toe to toe in a fierce battle for the title.
Synonyms
32
3.5
When two people compete directly, often in sports
31
3.7
In direct competition with another person or team
23
7.0
People argue or fight angrily with each other
10
7.0
To stand very close and fight or argue strongly
Antonyms
How Confrontational
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal combination of 'toe' + 'to' + 'toe' evokes close physical proximity (toes touching), so a B1 learner can infer a sense of closeness from the constituents. However, the conventional meaning 'in direct confrontation or competition' is a metaphorical extension of that physical image and not fully predictable without exposure or contextual clues. This mixed literal/metaphorical mapping makes the expression partly transparent but requiring some familiarity for the confrontational sense.
Etymology
The idiom toe to toe comes from the image of two people standing so close that their toes almost touch as they face each other. That close, face-to-face picture is why the phrase means 'in direct confrontation' or being ready to argue or compete.