battle

¹

[ bat-l ]

noun

1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces:

   the battle of Waterloo.

   Synonyms: war, conflict, contest

2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements:

   wounds received in battle.

   Synonyms: combat, warfare

3. a fight between two persons or animals:

   ordering a trial by battle to settle the dispute.

4. any conflict or struggle:

   a battle for control of the Senate.

5. Archaic. a battalion.

verb (used without object)

, bat·tled, bat·tling.

1. to engage in battle:

   ready to battle with the enemy.

2. to work very hard or struggle; strive:

   to battle for freedom.

   Synonyms: toil

verb (used with object)

, bat·tled, bat·tling.

1. to fight (a person, army, cause, etc.):

   We battled strong winds and heavy rains in our small boat.

2. to force or accomplish by fighting, struggling, etc.:

   He battled his way to the top of his profession.

battle

²

[ bat-l ]

verb (used with object)

, Archaic.

, bat·tled, bat·tling.

1. to furnish (a building or wall) with battlements; crenelate.

battle

¹

/ ˈbætəl /

noun

1. a fight between large armed forces; military or naval engagement; combat
2. conflict; contention; struggle

   his battle for recognition

3. do battle
   do battlegive battlejoin battle to start fighting

verb

1. whenintr, often foll by against, for, or with to fight in or as if in military combat; contend (with)

   she battled against cancer

2. to struggle in order to achieve something or arrive somewhere

   he battled through the crowd

3. intr to scrape a living, esp by doing odd jobs

Battle

²

/ ˈbætəl /

noun

1. a town in SE England, in East Sussex: site of the Battle of Hastings (1066); medieval abbey. Pop: 5190 (2001)

Battle

³

/ ˈbætəl /

noun

1. BattleKathleen1948FUSMUSIC: coloratura soprano Kathleen . born 1948, US opera singer: a coloratura soprano, she made her professional debut in 1972 and sang with New York City's Metropolitan Opera (1977–94)

Derived Forms

• ˈbattler, noun

Other Words From

• battler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of battle¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English batail(le), batal, from Old French bataille, from Vulgar Latin battālia (unrecorded) for Late Latin battuālia (neuter plural) “gladiatorial exercises,” equivalent to battu(ere) “to strike” + -ālia, neuter plural of -ālis adjective suffix; -al ², bate ²

Origin of battle²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English batailen, from Middle French bataillier “to provide with batailles; battlement

Word History and Origins

Origin of battle¹

C13: from Old French bataile , from Late Latin battālia exercises performed by soldiers, from battuere to beat

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. give / do battle, to enter into conflict; fight:

   He was ready to do battle for his beliefs.

More idioms and phrases containing battle

see half the battle ; losing battle ; pitched battle .

Synonym Study

Battle, action, skirmish mean a conflict between organized armed forces. A battle is a prolonged and general conflict pursued to a definite decision: the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. A skirmish is a slight engagement, often on the periphery of an area of battle: several minor skirmishes. An action can be a battle or a skirmish or can refer to actual fighting or combat: a major military action; action along the border; He saw action in the campaign.

Example Sentences

Creating a vaccine that is effective at least 80 percent of the time, which is the threshold the Goalkeepers model uses, is only part of the battle.

From Popular-Science

Both Lavrov and Pompeo used their visits to Cyprus to underscore the broader proxy battle at play.

From Ozy

So, more than a few echoes of the Cold War and the battle between capitalism and socialism.

From Freakonomics

Creating the drug is only “part of the battle,” said Biden, who likened effective distribution to a complex military operation.

From Washington Post

Apple last week filed a countersuit to stop the game maker from using its own payment system for Fortnite, escalating one of the most closely watched legal battles in the tech sector.

From Fortune

The U.S. military just unveiled a new effort to get Iraqis ready to battle ISIS.

From The Daily Beast

First, as opposition to gay marriage collapses, American anti-LGBT activists will slow their battle against it.

From The Daily Beast

It is the steady accretion of detail that may yet be the most damaging factor in the battle for British hearts and minds.

From The Daily Beast

The audio message featured the words, “the real battle in Lebanon is yet to begin.”

From The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast spoke to a jubilant League on Tuesday about the behind-the-scenes battle to get The Interview to movie theaters.

From The Daily Beast

A Yankee, whose face had been mauled in a pot-house brawl, assured General Jackson that he had received his scars in battle.

From Project Gutenberg

After the battle of the Pyramids he fell sick, and before the Syrian expedition, applied to return to France.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a distinguished warrior under Francis I, mortally wounded at the battle of Marignan.

From Project Gutenberg

It was under his auspices that the battle of Lepanto was fought, in which the Turks were so signally defeated.

From Project Gutenberg

Again, she was present at the battle of Silan, where her heroic example of courage infused new life into her brother rebels.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• action
• assault
• attack
• bloodshed
• bombing
• campaign
• clash
• combat
• conflict
• crusade
• encounter
• fighting
• hostility
• skirmish
• strife
• struggle
• war
• warfare