How to Use up against a/the wall in a Sentence

up against a/the wall

idiom
Definition of up against a/the wallnext
  • The occupants of the truck were dragged out, kicked and forced up against a wall.
    — Christopher Sherman, ajc, 8 June 2023
  • And Coleman feels up against a wall with Gov. Kay Ivey.
    — al, 11 Feb. 2023
  • Bishop and the seven others were lined up against a wall in the fort and gunned down.
    — Rennie Svirnovskiy, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Your butt should be up against the wall so that your body is at a 90-degree angle.
    — Maggie O'Neill, SELF, 31 Mar. 2023
  • Rafe ends up pushing Ward up against a wall and threatens him to leave town... or else.
    — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2023
  • In another shot, Kerr shows four pairs of white shoes lined up against a wall.
    — Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 1 Sep. 2023
  • In another shot, Kerr showed four pairs of white shoes lined up against a wall.
    — Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
  • At Perry's home, Perry tried to pull the girl's shirt up and pushed her up against a wall, the complaint said.
    — Evan Frank, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2021
  • There are no tables free, but a young woman directs us to a tiny inch of space right up against the wall.
    — Vulture, 26 Oct. 2023
  • The video shows the inmate placing his hands on Pizzo's neck after he is pinned up against the wall.
    — NBC News, 8 Sep. 2020
  • The officer instructs Anderson to get up against the wall, the video shows.
    — Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 12 Jan. 2023
  • In the footage, five support braces lean up against the wall and one – the closest to the camera – gradually bends.
    — Holly Yan, CNN, 5 June 2023
  • News reports showed dozens of people lined up against a wall near a taxiway.
    — NBC News, 29 Oct. 2021
  • In another room, guests lined up against a wall and the room started spinning as three creepy clowns jumped around the walls.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 25 Feb. 2022
  • Every kid would line up against the wall and wait to be admitted into a cramped nurse’s office to take the test.
    — Hazlitt, 18 Oct. 2023
  • Conversely, it should never be placed beside the door or pushed up against a wall.
    — Alyssa Gautieri, Good Housekeeping, 28 Apr. 2023
  • In one case, a few boys were walking home and throwing sticks when police swarmed them, drew guns and ordered the boys up against a wall.
    — Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 23 June 2020
  • Jeffrey Wright plays a frustrated academic up against the wall of what Black books must be to sell.
    — Leanne Italie, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Jeffrey Wright plays a frustrated academic up against the wall of what Black books must be to sell.
    — Leanne Italie, Quartz, 2 Mar. 2024
  • Employers have had their backs up against a wall for months as turnover woes continue to roil the workforce.
    — Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2022
  • In a different picture, Kerr showed four pairs of white and yellow shoes lined up against a wall, with infant shoes as the last ones.
    — Ariana Quihuiz, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2023
  • Vallejo then allegedly pushed him up against the wall and pressed his right forearm into his neck.
    — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 9 May 2024
  • As viewers watch the pair leave their one-on-one date, Riley pushes Maurissa up against a wall and kisses her.
    — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 25 Aug. 2021
  • Reginald Jones, one imagines, never backed anyone up against a wall.
    — Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2022
  • Steve Hunt: And there was a door leading into the house that had a pane of glass broken out and there was a maul, which is like a heavier ax, on the ground leaning up against the wall right next to that.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2023
  • Several coaches pinned the fan up against a wall, subduing him.
    — Richard J. Marcus, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024
  • After chasing and crashing into the pickup truck, soldiers pull five men from the pickup, disarm and kick them, and then line them up against the wall.
    — Christopher Sherman, ajc, 8 June 2023
  • The students lean in close, scrutinizing those and other Asawa works, which lie flat on a table, unframed, or are propped up against a wall.
    — Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2023
  • If subscriber growth continues to stagnate, implying that the streaming space has run up against a wall, that will be of concern.
    — Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Apr. 2022
  • Lie down on your back and elevate your legs straight up in the air or up against a wall, above heart level, to get blood flowing to your lower extremities.
    — Mara Santilli, SELF, 11 Jan. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'up against a/the wall.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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