have at

British  

verb

1. archaic (intr, preposition) to make an opening attack on, esp in fencing

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have at Idioms  

1. Attack; also, make an attempt at. For example, Urging the dog on, he said, “Go on, Rover, have at him,” or It's time to have at straightening out these files. [Late 1300s]

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Example Sentences

Anne-Cecile Blanchot, a New York-based PR professional, said she chooses hotels to escape from home life: “I don’t necessarily want what’s in my hotel room to be items I can have at home. Then it’s not as transportive and special.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The first, and probably most important, is to communicate to the public, and the second is to write reports, which have at times dramatically changed the national conversation about certain issues, such as the famous 1964 report on the hazards of tobacco use.

From Salon

If he wants to work out in jeans, or Lenny Kravitz in sunglasses and leather pants, go have at it.

From The Wall Street Journal

Seeing Calvert-Lewin start among the substitutes raised a few eyebrows because of the run of scoring he is on, but that is the difficulty managers have at this time of year, when games come thick and fast.

From BBC

People with a normal BMI can also be classified as having obesity if they have at least two elevated anthropometric measures, referred to as "anthropometric-only obesity."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• challenge
• contend
• contest
• contradict
• deny
• discuss
• disprove
• doubt
• quarrel
• rebut
• refute
• wrangle