come up against
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"They thought they already knew what they were going to find here, and they have come up against reality," he told AFP, saying some migrants told him they were returning "because they had no food".
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
“For a lot of guys, balding is the first thing they come up against where they really don’t have any control.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Caspian “C-Bird” Hollywell’s wide-eyed, frenetic energy and howling vocals come up against the sweet, mournful steel pedal guitar of suit-and-tie-wearing “Razor” Ramon Santos.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
The two-cap striker - who last played for Scotland in 2022 - has the play-off final to look forward to where he will come up against a fellow World Cup wannabe in Oli McBurnie.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
“We still should take the left road. I can feel it. If we come up against a Pecheneg ambush, we won’t be able to run while we’re carrying you, Håkon.”
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
