fight a losing battle
Resist inevitable defeat
To fight a losing battle is to struggle against something you're unlikely to overcome.
The phrase acknowledges continued effort despite poor odds: I'm fighting a losing battle trying to keep the house clean with three kids.
It suggests persistence in the face of inevitable defeat, whether the struggle is literal, political, or personal.
- swimming upstreamMoving against water flow
- brick wallStacked masonry partition
- effortApplied energy toward goals
- doomedDestined for destruction
- sinking shipVessel filling with water
Sisyphean · grit · hopelessness · quixotic · frustration · futile · resignation · throwing in the towel · fruitless · inevitability · unavailing · fool's errand · insurmountable · dead end · perseverance · running on empty · helplessness · no win situation
fight a losing battlelive to fight another day
Accept temporary defeat wisely
pick your battles · pick one's battles · cut your losses · fight the good fight · cut one's losses
fight, fights, fighting, fought, fighter, fighters, losing, losers, losses