go to the wall

Idioms  

1. Lose a conflict, be defeated; also, yield. For example, In spite of their efforts, they went to the wall , or When it's a matter of family versus friends, friends must go to the wall . [Late 1500s]

2. Fail in business, go bankrupt. For example, First one branch and then another did poorly, and the store finally went to the wall . [First half of 1800s]

3. Take an extreme position, hold out to the end. For example, The President went to the wall to defend his choice to head the FBI . For a synonym, see go to the mat .

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

go to the wall

“We’ll go to the wall to keep it open space,” Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, said at the time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

“We have to go to the wall to defend those private properties, and that is the end of the story,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025

"Just as we have done so far, we will go to the wall if it's about protecting our children," Varga said, adding that uphold the legislation was necessary and further measures would be taken.

From Reuters ● Mar. 9, 2023

Mayo has been a hot head coaching candidate in the past, and Belichick is known to go to the wall for those he really wants to keep.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 31, 2023

He talked of ‘its not being resistible;’ he said that ‘the Lords must give way or a collision would be the consequence,’ and ‘he knew who would go to the wall.’

From The Greville Memoirs A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV, Vol. III by Charles Greville

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Related Words

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• close
• drop
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