When the pressure is on; when the situation is urgent or critical.

Etymology:

  • From the game of poker: chips laid down on the table are staked.
18 Views

When the chips are down, you need to make tough decisions.

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'when the chips are down':

when the chips are downA difficult situation in which you are forced to decide what is important to you.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the when the chips are down phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to when the chips are down

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this when the chips are down phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this when the chips are down definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "when the chips are down." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/when-the-chips-are-down_7974>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    You take my _______ away.
    A cup of tea
    B breath
    C heart
    D socks

    Browse Phrases.com