push water uphill
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To attempt a difficult or impossible task
Literally: physically pushing water up a hill
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The new policy is pushing water uphill with the current resources
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “push water uphill” mean?
To attempt a difficult or impossible task Literally: physically pushing water up a hill
Is “push water uphill” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.