battle
noun
a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces.
battle
1 American
[bat-l]
/ ˈbæt l /
noun
-
battles
plural
-
a 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.
verb (used without object)
battled,
battling
verb (used with object)
battled,
battling
-
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
battle
2
American
[bat-l]
/ ˈbæt l /
verb (used with object)
Archaic.
battled,
battling
battle
1
British
/ ˈbætəl /
noun
-
a fight between large armed forces; military or naval engagement; combat
-
conflict; contention; struggle
his battle for recognition
-
to start fighting
verb
-
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) to scrape a living, esp by doing odd jobs
Battle
2
British
/ ˈbætəl /
noun
Battle
3
British
/ ˈbætəl /
noun
battle
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
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; see also -al 2, bate 2
Origin of battle2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English batailen, from Middle French bataillier “to provide with batailles; see battlement
Explanation
A battle is an open struggle, usually between two groups — like a baseball championship game or a food fight. The word battle is often used in opposition to war, a series of battles. Perhaps you have heard someone tell you, after winning the first of many dance competitions, "You may have won the battle, but you haven’t won the war!" A battle doesn’t have to occur between two individuals or groups. You may endure an inner battle to cut down on junk food. If you skip those fries for lunch today, then you have won a small battle.
Vocabulary lists containing battle
Superhero Lexicon
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Beowulf vocabulary
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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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:
But a vote Tuesday approving that transition sidestepped a battle between the county and City of Los Angeles over other federally-mandated duties long performed by LAHSA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
On the second floor, 22-year-old Sian Dimitri Felipe and a friend battle it out over a video game.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Parton died “peacefully” on Aug. 25 following a brief battle with cancer in her hometown of Nashville, Tenn., where she and her late husband, Carl Dean, had lived for decades.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
It’s redrawing tech’s battle lines, determining who can compete and which investors can win the best deals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
“Well, not the goal itself. Or the whole intense battle with Jonah. But—the fact that you put yourself out there and don’t hide what you’re going for. You own it.”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Over its 103-year-old history, Warner Bros has won more than 100 Academy Awards - including dominating at last year's show with a record-tying 11 Oscars for One Battle After Another, Sinners and Weapons.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The 1966 Battle of Hastings re-enactment that got real.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
“In such a political environment, no surviving veterans of Hengyang Battle dared to raise their heads.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Shifen Fox, whose father was killed during the siege, sets out to rescue its story in “The Battle of Hengyang.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a fight that, by any normal measure, ought to have been won by the Union army in a rout.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Situation: By that time, Snell is at 99 pitches, two shy of his season high, after the exhausting battles with Vaughn and Bauers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
After several weeks of court battles fighting extradition, Serhii K - identified in court documents as Serhii Kuznetsov - was transferred to Germany late last year.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Indonesia regularly battles wildfires during the dry season, which in Borneo typically peaks between July and September.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
We didn’t have time to grieve before legal battles began.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Major battles of the Revolution, with symbols indicating which were won by American or British forces and which resulted in outcomes that were not so clear, are shown on this map.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Royal Mail has battled with increased competition and falling demand for letter deliveries in recent years, and last week announced plans to cut 2,500 head office and other supporting roles by the end of 2027.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Haugen and Horwitz battled similarly daunting foes, and the rot they uncovered was just as systemic and frightening as the reporting.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Horacio Gutiérrez battled regulators at Microsoft and took on Apple at Spotify.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Surgical masks were their only shield against the toxic smoke in which they battled for hours.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
“You need to do something like that song ol’ boy you battled got.”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
The renewed hostilities come as Saudi Arabia has been battling an economic slowdown and rolling back some of its flashier investments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
A video released later by authorities showed how, just before dawn, a Bulgarian border-police vessel pulled alongside the stricken vessel, battling rough seas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
In southern Madagascar, aid workers told AFP they are already battling the effects of a famine and conditions are expected to worsen as El Nino's full impact on Africa takes hold from this month.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
It was the chance to stand in front of a camera, strike a bodybuilder post and reflect on how far he had come after almost two decades of battling anorexia.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
At least now, everything was settled, she wasn’t battling any more.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
