against.
In a contrary direction to.
Meaning & usage
In a contrary direction to.
It is hard work to swim against the current.
In physical opposition to; in collision with.
The rain pounds against the window.
In physical contact with, so as to abut or be supported by.
The ladder was leaning against the wall.
The puppy rested its head against a paw.
Close to, alongside.
A row of trees stood against a fence.
In front of; before (a background).
The giant was silhouetted against the door.
In contrast or comparison with.
He stands out against his classmates.
This report sets out the risks against the benefits.
In competition with, versus.
The Tigers will play against the Bears this weekend.
Contrary to; in conflict with.
Doing this is against my principles.
It is against the law to smoke on these premises.
In opposition to.
His mind is closed against all arguments.
Are you against freedom of choice?
Of betting odds, denoting a worse-than-even chance.
That horse is fifty-to-one against, so it has virtually no chance of winning.
In exchange for.
The vouchers are redeemable against West End shows and theatre breaks.
As counterbalance to.
As a charge on.
Tax is levied against income from sales.
As protection from.
He turned the umbrella against the wind.
In anticipation of; in preparation for (a particular time, event etc.).
The stores are kept well stocked against a time of need.
To be paid now in contrast to the following amount to be paid later under specified circumstances, usually that a movie is made or has started filming.
The studio weren't sure the movie would ever get made, so they only paid $50,000 against $200,000. That way they wouldn't be out very much if filming never began.
Exposed to.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Germanic *in Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *ganganąder.? Proto-Germanic *gagin Proto-Germanic *in gagin Proto-West Germanic *in gagin Old English onġēander. Middle English ayenes English against Formed from Middle English ayenes, agenes, againes (“in opposition to”), a southern variant of agen, or directly from again, either way with adverbial genitive singular ending -es; the parasitic -t was added circa 1350, probably by confusion with the superlative ending -est. By surface analysis, again + -st (excrescent ending). Cognate with Saterland Frisian juun (“against”), West Frisian tsjin (“against”), Dutch tegen (“against”), German Low German gegen (“against”), German gegen (“against”), Icelandic gegn (“against”).
By the time that (something happened); before.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Germanic *in Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *ganganąder.? Proto-Germanic *gagin Proto-Germanic *in gagin Proto-West Germanic *in gagin Old English onġēander. Middle English ayenes English against Formed from Middle English ayenes, agenes, againes (“in opposition to”), a southern variant of agen, or directly from again, either way with adverbial genitive singular ending -es; the parasitic -t was added circa 1350, probably by confusion with the superlative ending -est. By surface analysis, again + -st (excrescent ending). Cognate with Saterland Frisian juun (“against”), West Frisian tsjin (“against”), Dutch tegen (“against”), German Low German gegen (“against”), German gegen (“against”), Icelandic gegn (“against”).
Try it on your idea.
against has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.