have a mountain to climb
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
A grateful Hankin said: ‘ We have a mountain to climb, but I am looking forward to the challenge.’
They know as well as anyone else that Labour will have an even higher mountain to climb come the next general election as a result of Boundary Commission changes.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.
Common questions
What does “have a mountain to climb” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “have a mountain to climb” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.