shùshǒudàibì

束手待毙

Word · IdiomTraditional束手待斃

sit hand-tied awaiting death; resign oneself to doom

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

1 sense · 4 examples
1.

idiom

to sit with hands tied waiting for death; to resign oneself to failure or death without attempting to find a solution

formal

Used to describe a passive, defeatist attitude when facing danger or difficulty. Often carries a strong negative connotation of giving up without a fight.

Miàn面
duì对
kùn困
nán难
 ,
wǒ我
men们
bù不
néng能
shù束
shǒu手
dài待
bì毙
 ,
bì必
xū须
jī积
jí极
xiǎng想
bàn办
fǎ法
 。

When facing difficulties, we cannot sit back and await death; we must actively find solutions.

Rú如
guǒ果
jiù就
zhè这
yàng样
shù束
shǒu手
dài待
bì毙
 ,
gōng公
sī司
kěn肯
dìng定
huì会
pò破
chǎn产
 。

If we just resign ourselves to failure like this, the company will definitely go bankrupt.

Show 2 more examples
Dí敌
rén人
yǐ已
jīng经
bāo包
wéi围
le了
chéng城
chí池
 ,
dàn但
wǒ我
men们
jué绝
bù不
huì会
shù束
shǒu手
dài待
bì毙
 。

The enemy has already surrounded the city, but we will never surrender without a fight.

Yǔ与
qí其
shù束
shǒu手
dài待
bì毙
 ,
bù不
rú如
fàng放
shǒu手
yī一
bó搏
 。

Rather than sitting back and awaiting death, we might as well take a desperate gamble.