fight
Americanverb (used without object)
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fights,
present (3rd person singular)
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fought,
past participle, past
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fighting
present participle
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to engage in battle or in single combat; attempt to defend oneself against or to subdue, defeat, or destroy an adversary.
Our library has records on nearly 60,000 men from West Virginia who fought in World War I.
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to contend in any manner; strive vigorously for or against something.
He fought bravely against despair.
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to have an angry argument or disagreement.
I'm not happy about my wife bringing a surprise dog home, but I don't want to fight about it.
verb (used with object)
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fights,
present (3rd person singular)
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fought,
past participle, past
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fighting
present participle
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to contend with in battle or combat; war against.
England fought Germany in both World Wars.
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to contend with or against in any manner.
We hope to foster dialogue and fight hatred.
Democratic and Republican senators united to fight the passage of this controversial bill.
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to carry on (a battle, duel, etc.).
The Normans fought the battle of Hastings in 1066, defeating the Anglo-Saxons and changing the course of English history.
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to press or aggressively pursue (an argument, cause, contentious issue, etc.).
She fought her case all the way to the nation's highest court.
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to make (one's way) by contending or striving.
The team fought their way to the second round of the tournament, but were eliminated there.
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to cause or set (a boxer, animal, etc.) to fight.
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to manage or maneuver (troops, ships, guns, planes, etc.) in battle.
noun
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fights
plural
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a battle or combat.
I found two of my students in a fight during lunch.
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any contest or struggle.
She had a long fight for recovery from her illness.
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an angry argument or disagreement.
Whenever we discuss politics, we end up in a fight.
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Boxing. a bout or contest.
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a game or diversion in which the participants hit or pelt each other with something harmless.
a pillow fight;
a water fight.
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ability, will, or inclination to fight.
There was no fight left in him.
idioms
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fight it out, to fight until a decision is reached.
Let them fight it out among themselves.
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fight like cats and dogs, to argue constantly or ferociously.
We worked through our differences later, but those years we were together, we fought like cats and dogs.
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fight with windmills. tilt.
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fight shy of. shy.
verb
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to oppose or struggle against (an enemy) in battle
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to oppose or struggle against (a person, thing, cause, etc) in any manner
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(tr) to engage in or carry on (a battle, contest, etc)
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to uphold or maintain (a cause, ideal, etc) by fighting or struggling
to fight for freedom
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(tr) to make or achieve (a way) by fighting
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(intr) boxing
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to box, as for a living
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to use aggressive rough tactics
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to engage (another or others) in combat
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to contend or struggle until a decisive result is obtained
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to keep aloof from
noun
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a battle, struggle, or physical combat
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a quarrel, dispute, or contest
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resistance (esp in the phrase to put up a fight )
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the desire to take part in physical combat (esp in the phrase to show fight )
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a boxing match
Usage
What is a basic definition of fight? A fight is a battle, contest, struggle, argument, or any clash that involves at least two opposing sides. Fight is also to engage in combat or to struggle with something. Fight has several other senses as a noun and a verb. The most common type of fight is a physical struggle between two or more people (and/or animals) that involves violence. If two men are punching and kicking each other, they are in a fight or having a fight. Fight is also used more generally to refer to any struggle, argument, or contest in which two or more sides are battling against each other, literally or figuratively.
- Real-life examples: Rowdy soccer fans sometimes have fights. Couples and families sometimes have fights, meaning arguments, when they disagree with each other. A person who is in a fight with cancer is trying to beat it by surviving the disease.
- Used in a sentence: Luanne is still sulking after our fight over who the best James Bond is.
- Real-life examples: People who hate each other often want to fight and harm each other. Two dogs that both want the same territory will fight and try to bite each other. The United States fought Spain during the Spanish American War.
- Used in a sentence: The man was punched in the face as he tried to fight his hated enemy.
- Real-life examples: Farmers often fight insects and bad weather. The police fight crime. People fight boredom by watching television or spending time with friends.
- Used in a sentence: The government tried to fight poverty by lowering taxes and providing more welfare programs.
Synonym Usage
Fight, combat, conflict, contest denote a struggle of some kind. Fight connotes a hand-to-hand struggle for supremacy, literally or in a figurative sense. Combat suggests an armed encounter, as in war. Conflict implies a bodily, mental, or moral struggle caused by opposing views, beliefs, etc. Contest applies to either a friendly or a hostile struggle for a definite prize or aim.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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fightabilitynoun
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fightingnoun
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refightverb
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outfightverb (used with object)
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fightableadjective
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prefightadjective
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unfightableadjective
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fightinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fightsimple
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fightssimple
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have foughtperfect
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has foughtperfect
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am fightingprogressive
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are fightingprogressive
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is fightingprogressive
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have been fightingperfect progressive
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has been fightingperfect progressive
Past
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foughtsimple
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had foughtperfect
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was fightingprogressive
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were fightingprogressive
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had been fightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fight
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb fi(g)hten, Old English fe(o)htan; cognate with German fechten; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
When you fight, you dispute or argue. Everyone disagrees from time to time, but it's sad when close friends fight. The verb fight means to engage in a struggle that involves conflict — and as a noun, fight is the conflict itself. A fight can take a physical form, like a boxing match or a playground skirmish, or it can happen with words, like a fight over politics. The ancient root of fight comes from the Proto-Indo-European prefix pek, meaning "to pluck out." Picture a hair-pulling fight, and this makes complete sense.
Vocabulary lists containing fight
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“This memorandum expands the fight against TCO-perpetrated cybercrime by incorporating the ingenuity of the private sector,” the communication says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“You really have to fight to be here,” said Melissa Morris, a third-generation Big Surian.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Twitch's move opens the latest front in the fight to preserve online privacy as artificial intelligence firms increasingly seek data to improve their models.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
"I'm not like young guy. Now it's better for me to fight every three to four months," Makhachev told UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
He thought it was just another fight and started fighting back at the net.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
The former lightweight champion made his UFC debut in 2015 and has gone on to build a glittering resume, winning 17 of his 18 fights in the promotion.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Supply-chain backlogs, permitting fights and availability of power supplies are among the issues that have caused the construction of data centers to fall behind targeted timelines this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
TCIM, which has about $3.8 billion of assets under management, rarely gets involved in public activist fights and is known for engaging with companies behind the scenes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
My wife and I have huge fights about produce every night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“How many fights there are in families, every day. People in families love each other, or want to love each other, but they fight anyway. With strangers you don’t care so much. Think about it.”
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
Ties between Japan and Russia -- which fought a war in 1904-5 -- have worsened since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine began in 2022.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
His son Ivan said moving ahead with the mine honors agreements made by their forefathers who fought to secure mineral rights here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“We’re constantly searching in the dark,” she said, “which is why I’ve always fought to separate the city from this broken system.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
"For several years the two popes and their supporters fought for control of Rome, with Honorius retaining powerful backing from the Holy Roman Empire and attracting support elsewhere in northern Europe."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
She fought back another yawn and was grateful she had any sort of bed to sleep in that night.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Ukrainian troops have become expert in drone warfare over nearly 4½ years of fighting Russia, with operators and their support troops now skilled at continually repairing and adapting drones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Budapest was the sight of fierce fighting between the Soviet Red Army and the German Wehrmacht late in the Second World War.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
“The long end of the curve is fighting a lot of forces,” said Andrew Szczurowski, strategic income portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
I felt driven to music that is for and by Black and brown experiences, about fighting for your own culture, and fighting for your home place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
He thought it was just another fight and started fighting back at the net.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
