go to the mat

Idioms

Fight until one side or another is victorious, as in The governor said he'd go to the mat for this bill. This term comes from wrestling and evokes the holding of an opponent when both contestants are down on the mat, the padded floor-covering used in matches. It has been used figuratively since about 1900.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Others painted her as an opinionated woman willing to go to the mat for the creatures she dedicated her life to.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

But it appears it’s only this one retired congressman who is willing to go to the mat publicly at this point.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2024

Were there ever things that you had to really go to the mat to fight for or that actually didn't make it?

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2023

The District’s Candy Kessel said the best pithy advice she ever received was from her boss during a performance evaluation many years ago: “Candy, you can’t go to the mat on everything.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 16, 2021

Later, I happened to be in America when that dear good faithful copy-reader changed my Bizerte to the dictionary's Bizerta in an article on Tunis, and was able to go to the mat with him.

From Riviera Towns by Gibbons, Herbert Adams

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023