uphill battle

Meaning

An 'uphill battle' refers to a very difficult struggle or task where obstacles are constant and success is hard to achieve. It originates from the physical difficulty of fighting or climbing up a hill. It is used casually in business to describe tough negotiations, launching products in crowded markets, or changing deeply ingrained company cultures.

Examples

• Convincing the board to double our marketing budget is going to be an uphill battle.

  Convincing the board to double our marketing budget is going to be an uphill battle.

• Without proper funding, launching this startup will be a constant uphill battle.

  Without proper funding, launching this startup will be a constant uphill battle.

• We faced an uphill battle trying to win back clients after the system outage last month.

  We faced an uphill battle trying to win back clients after the system outage last month.

• Getting approvals from the legal department is always an uphill battle.

  Getting approvals from the legal department is always an uphill battle.

• It was an uphill battle, but we finally managed to close the deal before the deadline.

  It was an uphill battle, but we finally managed to close the deal before the deadline.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We have a very uphill battle ahead.

  ✓ We have an uphill battle ahead.

  'Uphill battle' is a noun phrase. You cannot modify 'uphill' with 'very' directly like an adjective in this context. Use 'a major uphill battle' or 'a very difficult uphill battle' instead.

• ✗ It was an upward battle to get the license.

  ✓ It was an uphill battle to get the license.

  The correct idiomatic term is 'uphill', not 'upward'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Securing market share in a saturated industry is always an ___.

  💡 A very difficult struggle.

  Show answer

  uphill battle

• It's going to be an ___ to get this project approved by Friday.

  💡 A hard task requiring immense effort.

  Show answer

  uphill battle