tilt at windmills
To attack imaginary enemiesTo attack imaginary enemies.
Meaning
2 senses(idiomatic, intransitive)To attack imaginary enemies.
gegen Windmühlen kämpfen
боро́ться с ветряны́ми ме́льницамиborótʹsja s vetrjanými mélʹnicami, сража́ться с ветряны́ми ме́льницамиsražátʹsja s vetrjanými mélʹnicami
(broadly, idiomatic, intransitive)To go on a wild-goose chase; to persistently engage in a futile activity.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From a passage in the novel Don Quixote where the eponymous character tilts (i.e. jousts)From a passage in the novel Don Quixote where the eponymous character tilts (i.e. jousts) at windmills that he has mistaken for giants.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
tilts at windmills, tilting at windmills, tilted at windmills, tilted at windmills| Base form | tilt at windmills · to tilt at windmills |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | tilts at windmills |
| Present participle | tilting at windmills |
| Past simple | tilted at windmills |
| Past participle | tilted at windmills |
irregular
Synonyms
3 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.