hit a wall
Reach your limit
To hit a wall is to reach a point where progress becomes impossible or extremely difficult.
The metaphor suggests forward motion suddenly blocked by an immovable obstacle.
Athletes hit a wall when their bodies give out; projects hit a wall when funding dries up or momentum stalls.
I was making good progress on the thesis, then I just hit a wall.
- fall flatFail to impress
- impasseSituation without resolution
- deadlockMutual blocking, no progress
- stagnateCease to develop
- obstacleSomething blocking the way
stymie · roadblock · burnout · burn out · plateau · defeat · stuck · bottleneck · overtraining · exhaustion · energy crash · standstill · bonk · out of gas · running on empty · spinning wheels · losing steam · frustration
- setbacksfailing, back to square one, stuck, losing, stumbles
- constructionconstruction site, building site, hammer, building, beam
- failingfail, fails, collapse, flop, bomb
- motion idiomsin motion, on the move, on the go, move forward, move along
- travel idiomsin the same boat, miss the boat, end of the road, crossroads, smooth sailing
hit a wallbreakthrough
Sudden important advance
break through · gain momentum · make headway · surge ahead · forge ahead
hit a wallbreak through
Surmount an obstacle suddenly
overcome · surmount · crack the code · turn the corner · push past
hit a wallrecharge
Restore electrical capacity
rally · bounce back · revive · hit one's stride · power up
hit, wall, hitting, walls, hits, wallop, walled, hitter, walloping