Lose or Win: English Vocabulary List

to fight or compete with someone with great force, determination, and strength

"They went toe-to-toe."

"The two rival companies decided to go toe-to-toe in a fierce advertising battle."

to try harder in order not to let others outdo one

"You must look to laurels."

"After winning the championship, the team cannot afford to look to their laurels and must continue training hard."

to be challenged by someone as equally good or slightly better than one

"He finally met his match."

"The chess champion met his match when he played against the young prodigy."

to agree to undertake a challenge

"He took up the gauntlet."

"When presented with the difficult task, the brave knight readily agreed to take up the gauntlet and prove his worth."

to challenge someone to a fight or competition

"He threw down gauntlet."

"The company threw down the gauntlet to its competitors by offering a much lower price for the same product."

used to demonstrate confidence in one's skills and abilities when challenging someone

"You want a fight? Bring it on!"

"Facing his rival, the athlete confidently declared, 'I'm ready for anything you throw at me, bring it on!'"

a situation in which one side can achieve victory by taking the advantage away from the other side in a competition, causing them to lose the game

"The conflict is a zero-sum game."

"The conflict is a zero sum game and one side's gain is inevitably the other side's loss."

(in business, politics, etc.) a situation in which the competition is so fierce that everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, even if it means harming others

"The business world is dog eat dog."

"The business world can be dog eat dog so you need to be tough to survive and succeed."

a situation where there is an equal chance for one to fail or succeed

"That was a close call."

"That car was a close call and the driver swerved just in time to avoid a crash."

the circumstances or conditions under which competition takes place

"The playing field is unfair."

"The government's new regulations created an uneven playing field, heavily favoring large corporations over small businesses."