争持不下 zhēngchíbùxià to reach a deadlock Definitions Defs Origin Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 争 爭 zhēng verb to argue to argue; to debate; to disagree or be at odds with someone持 chí to confront to confront or oppose; to be at a deadlock with another party不下 bùxià to be at a standstill to remain unchanged or unresolved; to be locked in a stalemate, such as in the phrases 僵持不下 jiāngchíbùxià or 居高不下 jūgāobùxià