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)

battled, battling 

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)

battled, battling 

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.

battled, battling 

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. to start fighting

verb

1. 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. 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)

Other Word Forms

• battler 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.

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

The story follows the battle between these adversaries for the futures of the Alcorn boys.

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Renaissance warfare rarely had battles that delivered clear victories, so a system for negotiation among league members made ending conflicts without destructive, protracted fighting possible.

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Reeves faces an “uphill battle” to plug the fiscal gap and reassure markets she has a credible plan for growth, Ebury’s Matthew Ryan says in a note.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A new report found that nine months after January’s fires, a significant number of residents in Altadena and Pacific Palisades remain displaced and continue to struggle with housing support amid ongoing battles with insurance.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In its early days, residents were angry as crowds descended on nearby villages, there were concerns about drug use, issues with gatecrashers, and even court battles over the festival's licence applications.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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