pitched battle, a

Idioms

An intense conflict, as in Their disagreement turned into a pitched battle between the nurses and the physicians' assistants. This term, dating from about 1600, originally alluded to a military battle in which the array of forces and battleground are predetermined (as opposed to a hasty skirmish).

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.

Amelia had been raised to believe that existence was a pitched battle, a series of challenges to be brooked.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2020

As Lieutenant Summers had explained to the boys, even in pitched battle a good deal of powder and shot was spent often without anybody being injured.

From The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards by Breckenridge, Gerald

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023