do the impossible

English

Verb

do the impossible (third-person singular simple present does the impossible, present participle doing the impossible, simple past did the impossible, past participle done the impossible)

1. To accomplish something in spite of overwhelming odds against it.
   • 1998, Jennifer DeVere Brody, Impossible Purities, page 118:

     Reade's androgyne does the impossible by being not only the product of desire, but also the producer of desire.

   • 2022, Inez Haynes Gillmore, The Story of the Woman's Party:

     What I ask is, will you use your influence within your Party? I do not ask the impossible, though I might from you, for you have done the impossible.

Related terms

• ask the impossible

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 做到別人認為不可能的事 / 做到别人认为不可能的事 (zuòdào biérén rènwéi bù kěnéng de shì)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: tehdä mahdottomia
• French: faire l’impossible (fr)
• German: das Unmögliche tun
• Italian: fare l'impossibile
• Polish: dokonywać niemożliwego impf
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• “the impossible”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “the impossible” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “the impossible” (US) / “the impossible” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.