How to Use up against a/the wall in a Sentence
up against a/the wall
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The occupants of the truck were dragged out, kicked and forced up against a wall.
—Christopher Sherman, ajc, 8 June 2023
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And Coleman feels up against a wall with Gov. Kay Ivey.
—al, 11 Feb. 2023
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Bishop and the seven others were lined up against a wall in the fort and gunned down.
—Rennie Svirnovskiy, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2023
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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
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Rafe ends up pushing Ward up against a wall and threatens him to leave town... or else.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2023
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In another shot, Kerr shows four pairs of white shoes lined up against a wall.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 1 Sep. 2023
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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
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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
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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
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The officer instructs Anderson to get up against the wall, the video shows.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 12 Jan. 2023
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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
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News reports showed dozens of people lined up against a wall near a taxiway.
—NBC News, 29 Oct. 2021
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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
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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
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Conversely, it should never be placed beside the door or pushed up against a wall.
—Alyssa Gautieri, Good Housekeeping, 28 Apr. 2023
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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
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Jeffrey Wright plays a frustrated academic up against the wall of what Black books must be to sell.
—Leanne Italie, Quartz, 2 Mar. 2024
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Reginald Jones, one imagines, never backed anyone up against a wall.
—Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2022
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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
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Several coaches pinned the fan up against a wall, subduing him.
—Richard J. Marcus, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Lean a ladder right up against the wall behind your toilet to provide extra room for hanging linens or a shower caddy.
—Amanda Sims Clifford, House Beautiful, 19 Dec. 2022
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His punishment involved standing up against a wall for hours on end for several weeks.
—Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 Sep. 2020
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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