hit the wall

hit the wall

1. To become completely exhausted, fatigued, or worn out. I hit the wall after only the first mile of the race; I could barely even walk for the rest of it!
2. To suddenly end or cease making advancements. Our plans for the event hit the wall when our chief investor suddenly backed out.
See also: hit, wall
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hit the wall

INFORMAL
If someone or something hits the wall they reach a point where no more progress can be made. Asked if her career had hit the wall she said: `I don't know. We'll have to see.' To ensure their businesses do not hit the wall, operators must make sure their financial management is strong.
See also: hit, wall
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

hit the wall

1. To become suddenly and extremely fatigued, especially when participating in an endurance sport, such as running.
2. To lose effectiveness suddenly or come to an end: The stock rally hit the wall when interest rates rose.
See also: hit, wall
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • fit to drop
  • fit/ready to drop
  • beat tired
  • out of steam
  • fagged out
  • be beat
  • beat
  • puggled
References in periodicals archive
"It hit me before it hit the wall. I think the tyre hit my foot as I've cuts up the back of my leg.
Police are appealing for information following the accident in which a white Audi A5 hit the wall at the roundabout at the junction of Oxbridge Avenue and Oxbridge Lane in Stockton.
He told the inquest at Birmingham Coroner's Court that he had put the lorry handbrake on - but it had rolled forward and hit the wall.
Each time the victim was pushed, his body hit the wall. The defendant then slapped the victim so hard on his face that the latter collapsed.
As a result he lost control over his vehicle that swerved and hit the wall of the house.
The greatest percentage of runners who hit the Wall had used primarily a strategy of internal dissociation--a surprise given the popularity of iPods and other listening devices (however officially banned) at race events.
Ike Holter's Hit the Wall (at the Barrow Street Theater in New York City through July 7) could have heavy handedly stressed contemporary political parallels, but it doesn't.
Writer Ike Holter, 27, and director Eric Hoff, 30, tell the tale of the first night of the Stonewall riots in Hit the Wall, now having its New York premiere at the Barrow Street Theatre, just a couple blocks from the Stonewall Inn, after having been staged twice in Chicago last year.
I just remember when I hit the wall it was my knee which took the knock, that was the bit that hurt.
He polished off the meat and bread feast in one hour and 18 minutes - with the final eight bites taking half an hour to complete after he "hit the wall".
The pellets striking the bottom of the 30-inch circle hit the base of the wall, the pellets striking the top of the 30-inch circle hit the wall straight back the measured distance from the top of the 30-inch circle and the remaining pellets all hit the wall somewhere in between.
Investigators are likely to explore whether the man was conscious when his Rover car hit the wall.
The 31 year-old, from Shrewsbury, had been driving along Chapel Ash in Wolverhampton when he lost control of his Ford Focus and hit the wall at St Marks' Church at 5.30pm on Friday.
The bus hit the wall of a hotel and a bridge over the main York to Scarborough railway line.
Foam blocks inside the SAFER barrier were crushed by the car's force (push or pull) as it hit the wall. When the blocks collapsed, they absorbed most of the kinetic energy (energy of motion) of the crash.