the ropes
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"You can't come in and nick a fight off me. I kept applying pressure and forced him to the ropes, and he couldn't keep up with the pace."
From BBC
Bishop placed movable cameras with different focal lengths on opposite sides of the ring to capture the action, almost always with the ropes visible in the foreground.
From Los Angeles Times
Very promising and Hearts looked on the ropes.
From BBC
City were on the ropes and just about absorbing shots as they clung on for the points.
From BBC
He resembles a prizefighter doubled over from a gut punch — staggering, grabbing the ropes, looking to the referee for help.
From Salon
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.
