battle
1a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo.
participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle.
a fight between two persons or animals: ordering a trial by battle to settle the dispute.
any conflict or struggle: a battle for control of the Senate.
Archaic. a battalion.
to engage in battle: ready to battle with the enemy.
to work very hard or struggle; strive: to battle for freedom.
to fight (a person, army, cause, etc.): We battled strong winds and heavy rains in our small boat.
to force or accomplish by fighting, struggling, etc.: He battled his way to the top of his profession.
Idioms about battle
give / do battle, to enter into conflict; fight: He was ready to do battle for his beliefs.
Origin of battle
1synonym study For battle
Other words for battle
Other words from battle
- battler, noun
Other definitions for battle (2 of 2)
to furnish (a building or wall) with battlements; crenelate.
Origin of battle
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use battle in a sentence
For the last nine years, they have battled secular Baluch nationalists who would like to see an independent Baluchistan.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan | Umar Farooq | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWithin the black community itself, the slave mentality is still being battled.
Often, the newsprint reads, the fires were battled at abandoned houses.
And in Diyarbakır Kurdish Hizbullah, a militant Islamist group that in the 1990s battled the PKK, made a re-appearance.
Kobani is Falling to ISIS in Syria. Kurd Protests Explode in Turkey. | Jamie Dettmer | October 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDovlatov hated Soviet oppression and battled repression subtly, by not condescending to notice it, and keeping things light.
From Moscow to Queens, Down Sergei Dovlatov Way | Daniel Genis | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
On she battled, already feeling weak and tired; but always the thought of home waiting for her impelled her onward.
The Underworld | James C. WelshA gasping spasm seized the man, and he battled again for his breath.
Colonial Born | G. Firth ScottHis voice stopped in a gasp, and for a minute he battled for his breath.
Colonial Born | G. Firth ScottFor several moments he stood with bowed head while impulse battled with good judgment.
Warrior of the Dawn | Howard Carleton BrowneBattled in all his attempts, he read on: "'I saw him in his way through Dublin last night,' Who can he possibly mean?"
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) | Charles James Lever
British Dictionary definitions for battle (1 of 3)
/ (ˈbætəl) /
a fight between large armed forces; military or naval engagement; combat
conflict; contention; struggle: his battle for recognition
do battle, give battle or join battle to start fighting
(when intr , often foll by against, for, or with) to fight in or as if in military combat; contend (with): she battled against cancer
to struggle in order to achieve something or arrive somewhere: he battled through the crowd
(intr) Australian to scrape a living, esp by doing odd jobs
Origin of battle
1Derived forms of battle
- battler, noun
British Dictionary definitions for Battle (2 of 3)
/ (ˈbætəl) /
a town in SE England, in East Sussex: site of the Battle of Hastings (1066); medieval abbey. Pop: 5190 (2001)
British Dictionary definitions for Battle (3 of 3)
/ (ˈbætəl) /
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)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with battle
see half the battle; losing battle; pitched battle.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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