rub up against (someone or something)
rub up against (someone or something)
1. Literally, to press against someone or something and rub on them or it. The girl I started dating has a dog that rubs up against me whenever I go over to her house. The elephant started rubbing up against our jeep, making me nervous that it would tip us over. He rubbed up against a tree to scratch the itch on his back.
2. To come into conflict with someone or something. We've been rubbing up against a lot of bureaucratic red tape as we try to expand our business into Southeast Asia. The new senator has made a point of disrupting the status quo in politics, so it's not surprising that she's been rubbing up against some of the more established politicians in Congress.
See also: rub, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
- get up against
- get up against (someone or something)
- clash
- clash against
- clash against (someone or something)
- against
- against (someone or something)
- avenge (oneself) against (someone or something)
- fortify (someone or something) against (something) with (something)
- build a case against (someone or something)