"go to the wall" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "have one's back to the wall"
      },
      "expansion": "have one's back to the wall",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From a fight or military retreating until they cannot escape; see have one's back to the wall and retreat to the wall doctrine in common law.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "goes to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "going to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "went to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gone to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "go<goes,,went,gone> to the wall"
      },
      "expansion": "go to the wall (third-person singular simple present goes to the wall, present participle going to the wall, simple past went to the wall, past participle gone to the wall)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "18 32 33 17",
      "word": "have one's back to the wall"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "18 32 33 17",
      "word": "retreat to the wall"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "18 32 33 17",
      "word": "balls to the wall"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "18 32 33 17",
      "word": "go to the mat"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "18 32 33 17",
      "word": "up against the wall"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "53 24 14 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He'll be the one who goes to the wall when it's needed."
        },
        {
          "text": "He's always been willing to go to the wall for his friends."
        },
        {
          "text": "That was the one point he was willing to go to the wall on."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make an all-out effort."
      ],
      "id": "en-go_to_the_wall-en-verb-OP6-Zrsk",
      "links": [
        [
          "all-out",
          "all-out"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To make an all-out effort."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2012 October 13, “Iran and its currency crisis: A comeback for the reformers?”, in The Economist",
          "text": "That may be cold comfort for the many import-reliant businesses that have gone to the wall as a result of the rial’s recent plunge of 40% against the dollar [...]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)"
      ],
      "id": "en-go_to_the_wall-en-verb-CpPmfped",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To be put aside or forgotten."
      ],
      "id": "en-go_to_the_wall-en-verb-O638G5ap"
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To take an extreme and determined position or measure."
      ],
      "id": "en-go_to_the_wall-en-verb-rnAgCKz4"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-go to the wall.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a3/En-au-go_to_the_wall.ogg/En-au-go_to_the_wall.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/En-au-go_to_the_wall.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "go to the wall"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "have one's back to the wall"
      },
      "expansion": "have one's back to the wall",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From a fight or military retreating until they cannot escape; see have one's back to the wall and retreat to the wall doctrine in common law.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "goes to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "going to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "went to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gone to the wall",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "go<goes,,went,gone> to the wall"
      },
      "expansion": "go to the wall (third-person singular simple present goes to the wall, present participle going to the wall, simple past went to the wall, past participle gone to the wall)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "have one's back to the wall"
    },
    {
      "word": "retreat to the wall"
    },
    {
      "word": "balls to the wall"
    },
    {
      "word": "go to the mat"
    },
    {
      "word": "up against the wall"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He'll be the one who goes to the wall when it's needed."
        },
        {
          "text": "He's always been willing to go to the wall for his friends."
        },
        {
          "text": "That was the one point he was willing to go to the wall on."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make an all-out effort."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "all-out",
          "all-out"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To make an all-out effort."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2012 October 13, “Iran and its currency crisis: A comeback for the reformers?”, in The Economist",
          "text": "That may be cold comfort for the many import-reliant businesses that have gone to the wall as a result of the rial’s recent plunge of 40% against the dollar [...]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)"
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To be put aside or forgotten."
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To take an extreme and determined position or measure."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-go to the wall.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a3/En-au-go_to_the_wall.ogg/En-au-go_to_the_wall.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/En-au-go_to_the_wall.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "go to the wall"
}