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

For over two months, Paramjit Singh, 48, a US green card holder battling a brain tumour and a heart condition, has been held in a detention centre by US immigration authorities.

Read more on BBC

As lawmakers continue battling over the budget, more government services are feeling the effect of the shutdown.

Read more on BBC

Others are still battling with their insurance companies to figure out their rebuilding budget, or waiting for environmental reviews to gauge the contamination of their lots.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Hundreds of competitors went into battle in Northamptonshire for the event's 60th year - which attracted increased attention after last year's cheating scandal.

Read more on BBC

Only the smallest, densest regions of the galaxy make it through these battles, leaving the poor galaxy without much fuel for its stellar nurseries — the regions where new stars are born.

Read more on Space Scoop

Related Words

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