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]

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Example Sentences

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

I haven't sufficient brains to pit against those cunning devils.

From Lord Tony's Wife An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness

Related Words

• break up
• differ
• separate
• split
• vary