From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishresort to something phrasal verbSOLVE/DEAL WITH A PROBLEMto do something bad, extreme, or difficult because you cannot think of any other way to deal with a problem Officials fear that extremists may resort to violence.resort to doing something Vets have had to resort to killing the animals. → resort→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
resort to • He says he is praying for rain, but isn't yet resorting to a rain dance.• As a partial solution, Combined Fleet decided to resort to a special stratagem that had already worked successfully once before.• Finally, the King could resort to borrowing.• Even higher organisms resort to fermentation as an auxiliary process when the oxygen supply is insufficient.• Many governments thus resort to financing expenditure through domestic bank borrowing and printing money, both of which are inflationary.• The Master tried both persuasion and threats but ... was compelled at length to send for a constable and resort to force.• Candidates also are resorting to personal attacks to get attention because their positions on most substantive issues are remarkably similar.• If this strategy fails, however, you then have to resort to sterner measures in the shape of video floodlights.resort to doing something• Many homeless teenagers resort to stealing when their money runs out.• As a partial solution, Combined Fleet decided to resort to a special stratagem that had already worked successfully once before.• Candidates also are resorting to personal attacks to get attention because their positions on most substantive issues are remarkably similar.• Even higher organisms resort to fermentation as an auxiliary process when the oxygen supply is insufficient.• Finally, the King could resort to borrowing.• He says he is praying for rain, but isn't yet resorting to a rain dance.• If this strategy fails, however, you then have to resort to sterner measures in the shape of video floodlights.• Many governments thus resort to financing expenditure through domestic bank borrowing and printing money, both of which are inflationary.• The Master tried both persuasion and threats but ... was compelled at length to send for a constable and resort to force.From Longman Business Dictionaryresort to something phrasal verb [transitive] to take a bad or unpleasant course of action because everything else has failedThe company may resort to a temporary closure of its only plant.We regret we must resort to legal action. → resort→ See Verb table 