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.
Analysts credit the 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal as a huge success; Comcast rescued a company that was on the ropes due to General Electric’s under-investment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
But it might be debt, not equity, that has SpaceX on the ropes on Monday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
But it is also the story of two men in a sport that has been on the ropes for decades, but which once occupied the public imagination as much as any other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
After Rozicki stumbled back to the corner, his team threw in the towel and Billam-Smith climbed on the ropes to celebrate.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Then he spat on his hands, took hold of the ropes, and began to haul the stone-boat across the meadow of grasses and spring flowers, toward the mountain quarry.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
![]()
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.