fight
(fīt)
[Middle English fighten, from Old English feohtan, fihtan.]
verb: fought (fôt), fight·ing, fights.
intransitive verb
- To attempt to harm or gain power over an adversary by blows or with weapons.
- Sports To engage in boxing or wrestling.
- To engage in a quarrel; argue: They are always fighting about money.
- To strive vigorously and resolutely: fought against graft; fighting for her rights.
transitive verb
- To contend with physically or in battle.
- To wage or carry on (a battle).
- To contend for, by or as if by combat: “I now resolved that Calais should be fought to the death” (Winston S. Churchill)
- Sports To box or wrestle against in a ring.
- To participate in (a boxing match, for example).
- To set (a boxer, for example) in combat with another. See synonyms at oppose
- To contend with or struggle against: fight cancer; fight temptation.
- To try to prevent the development or success of.
- To make (one's way) by struggle or striving: fought my way to the top.
noun
- A confrontation between opposing groups in which each attempts to harm or gain power over the other, as with bodily force or weapons.
- A quarrel or conflict.
- A physical conflict between two or more individuals.
- Sports A boxing or wrestling match.
- A struggle to achieve an objective. See synonyms at conflict
- The power or inclination to fight; pugnacity: I just didn't have any fight left in me.
phrasal verbs
- fight off
- To defend against or drive back (a hostile force, for example).
idioms
- fight fire with fire
- To combat one evil or one set of negative circumstances by reacting in kind.
- fight shy of
- To avoid meeting or confronting.
derivatives
- fight́a·biĺi·ty
- noun
- fight́a·ble
- adjective
- fight́ing·ly
- adverb