opposed to; in conflict or disagreement withthey fought against the legislation
standing or leaning beside or in front ofa ladder against the wall
coming in contact withthe branches of a tree brushed against the bus
in contrast tosilhouettes are outlines against a light background
having an adverse or unfavourable effect onthe economic system works against small independent companies
as a protection from or means of defence from the adverse effects ofa safeguard against contaminated water
in exchange for or in return for
rarein preparation forhe gave them warm clothing against their journey through the night
as againstas opposed to or as compared withhe had two shots at him this time as against only one last time
Word Origin for against
C12: ageines, from again, ageyn, etc, again + -es genitive ending; the spelling with -t (C16) was probably due to confusion with superlatives ending in -st
early 12c., agenes "in opposition to," a southern variant of agen "again" (see again), with adverbial genitive. The parasitic -t turned up mid-14c. and was standard by early 16c., perhaps from influence of superlatives.
