go to the mat

/ɡˌəʊ tə ðə mˈat/

/ɡˌoʊ tə ðə mˈæt/

to go to the mat

to support someone or something in an argument with another person

Examples

1. Kowalski goes to the mat for homeless vets.

2. We went to the mat for him because he'd helped us in the past.

3. And McConnell's willingness to go to the mat for judicial appointments, was perhaps never more obvious than during the Kavanaugh hearings.

4. I went to the mat for that joke, and I think we'll agree I was right and you were wrong!