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battle1

[bat-l]
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noun
  1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo.
  2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle.
  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.
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verb (used without object), bat·tled, bat·tling.
  1. to engage in battle: ready to battle with the enemy.
  2. to work very hard or struggle; strive: to battle for freedom.
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verb (used with object), bat·tled, bat·tling.
  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.
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Idioms
  1. give/do battle, to enter into conflict; fight: He was ready to do battle for his beliefs.
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Origin of battle1

1250–1300; Middle English bataile < Old French < Vulgar Latin *battālia for Late Latin battuālia (neuter plural) gladiatorial exercises, equivalent to battu(ere) to strike (see bate2) + -ālia, neuter plural of -ālis -al2
Related formsbat·tler, noun

Synonyms

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1. contest, conflict, war. 2. warfare, combat, fighting. 10. conflict. 7. contest.

Synonym study

1. 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.

battle2

[bat-l]
verb (used with object), bat·tled, bat·tling. Archaic.
  1. to furnish (a building or wall) with battlements; crenelate.
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Origin of battle2

1300–50; Middle English batailen < Middle French bataillier to provide with batailles. See battlement
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

contendwrestlefeudclamorarguestrivecombatcontestagitateoppugnskirmishtugwardispute

Examples from the Web for battling

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • She spoke with a touch of haste, as if battling against some hindrance within.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • Once more, all the powers are battling for possession of the people.

  • The noise from downstairs was as that of a score of battling fiends.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • In its barrow it trusted, its battling and bulwarks: that boast was vain!

    Beowulf

    Anonymous

  • He knew that battling against the temptation would be hopeless.

    Cleo The Magnificent

    Louis Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for battling

battle

noun
  1. a fight between large armed forces; military or naval engagement; combat
  2. conflict; contention; strugglehis battle for recognition
  3. do battle, give battle or join battle to start fighting
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verb
  1. (when intr , often foll by against, for, or with) 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 somewherehe battled through the crowd
  3. (intr) Australian to scrape a living, esp by doing odd jobs
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Derived Formsbattler, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old French bataile, from Late Latin battālia exercises performed by soldiers, from battuere to beat

Battle1

noun
  1. a town in SE England, in East Sussex: site of the Battle of Hastings (1066); medieval abbey. Pop: 5190 (2001)
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Battle2

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)
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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

Word Origin and History for battling

battle

v.

early 14c., "to fight," from French batailler (12c.), from bataille (see battle (n.)). Related: Battled; battling.

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battle

n.

c.1300, from Old French bataille "battle, single combat," also "inner turmoil, harsh circumstances; army, body of soldiers," from Late Latin battualia "exercise of soldiers and gladiators in fighting and fencing," from Latin battuere "to beat, to strike" (see batter (v.)). Phrase battle royal "fight involving several combatants" is from 1670s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with battling

battle

see half the battle; losing battle; pitched battle.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.