measure against

measure (someone or sth) (up) against (someone or sth else)

1. To compare the qualities of a particular person or thing with those of someone or something else. Because I'm pursuing the same career as my brother, I feel like people are always measuring me against him. I just feel that modern architecture is missing some of the grandeur of pre-21st-century buildings when you measure them up against one another.

2. To place someone or something against a larger person or thing so as to observe, measure, or compare the size of one or both. We've been measuring our kids against the same wall for nearly 15 years now—there's a lot of memories on that thing! When you measure the new desk up against the older one, you can see that there is a noticeable size discrepancy.

See also: measure, sth

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

measure (someone) against (someone else) (or something against something else)

to compare someone with someone else; to compare something with something else. Daniel measured his brother against the boy next door. We measured the new building against the older ones and found the new one lacking in many respects. I measured myself against Tom and found him superior in almost everything.

See also: measure

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.