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Synonyms

pit against

Idioms  

  1. Set in direct opposition or competition, as in The civil war pitted brother against brother. This idiom alludes to setting fighting cocks or dogs against one another in a pit. [Mid-1700s]

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.

As more women entered the genre, some were uniting on hit records such as “Ladies Night,” while others were pit against each other.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 9, 2023

The 2016 game Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was set in an apartheid society in which “Augs”—people with mechanical enhancements, such as bionic limbs or brain interfaces—were pit against those who remained “natural.”

From The New Yorker • Mar. 15, 2019

Lee was supposed to announce the University of Virginia's home opener football game, but was switched to announce Youngstown State University pit against the University of Pittsburgh instead.

From Time • Aug. 24, 2017

Wang is perhaps the wrong “second generation rich” to pit against, despite the growing income divide in China and what many describe as a rising “rich-hating” mentality in Chinese society.

From Forbes • Feb. 18, 2015

Denmark had no fighting ships at home to pit against her.

From Hero Tales of the Far North by Riis, Jacob A. (Jacob August)

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.