进退维谷 jìntuìwéigǔ to be in a dilemma Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 进 進 jìn verb to advance To move forward or upward; to make progress; opposite of 退 tuì.退 tuì verb to retreat to move backward; to withdraw or pull back维 維 wéi to be (literary) to be谷 gǔ difficulty used in the phrase 进退维谷 jìntuìwéigǔ to mean a state of extreme difficulty or a dilemma