# David and Goliath

idiom · CEFR B2

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/david-and-goliath
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Meaning

A contest in which a much weaker underdog faces a far stronger opponent.

## Examples

- It was a David and Goliath match, and the smaller team won.
- The lawsuit was a David and Goliath fight: one injured worker against a company with limitless lawyers.
- What looked like a hopeless David and Goliath contest turned on a single overlooked document, and the tiny firm brought the conglomerate to a settlement.

## Origin

The story is told in 1 Samuel 17. The armies of Israel and the Philistines face each other across a valley, and the Philistines send out their champion, Goliath — a giant in bronze armour who taunts the Israelites daily. No soldier will fight him. Then David, a shepherd boy too small even to wear armour, volunteers. He refuses a sword, takes five smooth stones and a sling, and kills the giant with a single shot to the forehead before Goliath can close the distance. The detail matters: David wins not by matching Goliath's strength but by fighting on his own terms. That is why the phrase endures. A David-and-Goliath struggle is any contest between a small, outmatched underdog and a powerful favourite — a local shop against a retail chain, a tiny nation against an empire — with the quiet implication that the giant can still be brought down.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.