odds are stacked against (someone)

idiom

—used to describe a situation in which someone does not have a good or fair chance of winning, succeeding, etc.

She felt the odds are stacked against her.

Examples of odds are stacked against (someone) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The odds are stacked against both men, who eventually come face to face just as the series premiere ends. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

Although there are currently five generations of workers, research shows that Gen Z and millennial workers feel unheard by older managers meanwhile, workers over 50 often feel like the odds are stacked against them. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 4 Feb. 2024

Explore Kelly Rowland See latest videos, charts and news Rowland’s character, Mea Harper, takes on the case of a lifetime with Zyair Malloy — played by Trevante Rhodes — on trial for allegedly murdering his girlfriend, and the odds are stacked against him. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2024

The company recognizes the odds are stacked against them. —Sam Tabachnik, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2024

And even in California, at the heart of the farmworkers’ movement, the odds are stacked against them. —Piper French, The New Republic, 2 Nov. 2021

The odds are stacked against them in a country where warehousing people is big business. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023

The odds are stacked against such a crossing ever occurring, which may explain why examples of hybrids are so rare, and dogxim is the only one ever confirmed by modern science. —Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2023

While the odds are stacked against him, don’t expect Rogers to go down without a fight. —Dallas News, 1 Sep. 2022