hilt

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to the hilt

As much or to the greatest degree possible; completely or utterly. They've had to borrow to the hilt to get the company off the ground. We're ready to defend our client to the hilt in court.

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to the hilt

Also, up to the hilt. Completely, to the maximum degree, as in The house was mortgaged up to the hilt. This idiom alludes to the handle ( hilt) of a sword, the only portion that remains out when the weapon is plunged all the way in. The figurative use of the term was first recorded in 1687.

See also: hilt

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

to the hilt

up to the hilt

COMMON

1. If you do something to the hilt or up to the hilt, you do it to the greatest possible extent. He'll be a good candidate. We'll back him up to the hilt. If Fred raises this issue tomorrow, I'll defend my actions to the hilt.

2. If you borrow money to the hilt or up to the hilt, you borrow as much as possible. The company had borrowed to the hilt and still needed more capital. His father's estates were mortgaged up to the hilt. Note: The hilt of a sword or knife is its handle. The image here is of a knife or sword being pushed in all the way to the handle.

See also: hilt

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

(up) to the hilt

completely.

The image is that of plunging the blade of a knife deeply into something, so that only the hilt is visible.

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Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

(up) to the ˈhilt

(support, etc. somebody) completely: I will support you to the hilt on this.

This expression refers to the full length of a sword, up to its handle (= the hilt).

See also: hilt

to the hilt

To the limit; completely: played the role to the hilt.

See also: hilt

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

up to the hilt

To the utmost. The hilt is the handle of a dagger or sword; when the weapon is plunged all the way into something, only the hilt stays out. The term, also put as to the hilt, was transferred to other kinds of extreme by the seventeenth century. “The estate was mortgaged up to the hilt,” wrote James Payn (Thicker than Water, 1883).