combat
Americanverb (used with object)
-
combats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combated,
past participle, past
-
combatted,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
combating,
present participle
-
combatting
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
combats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combated,
past participle, past
-
combatted,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
combating,
present participle
-
combatting
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
combats
plural
-
Military. active, armed fighting with enemy forces.
-
a fight, struggle, or controversy, as between two persons, teams, or ideas.
noun
-
a fight, conflict, or struggle
-
-
an action fought between two military forces
-
( as modifier )
a combat jacket
-
-
a fight between two individuals; duel
-
fighting at close quarters
verb
-
(tr) to fight or defy
-
(intr; often foll by with or against) to struggle or strive (against); be in conflict (with)
to combat against disease
Usage
What does combat mean? Combat is most commonly used in a military context to refer to active fighting among opposing armies. To engage in combat is to engage in fighting. This kind of combat most commonly takes place on a battlefield or warzone on the ground (called a combat zone). Aerial combat involves fighting in the air among air forces. Hand-to-hand combat involves close fighting, often literally with one’s hands. Combat is often used as a modifier (adjective) in terms that refer to things related to or involving combat, such as combat training, combat medic, combat fatigue, and combat boots. Combat is sometimes used more broadly or figuratively to refer to active conflict between two people or groups, as in The two corporations are preparing to do combat in the courtroom. The term verbal combat refers to fighting with words. Combat is also commonly used as a verb meaning to oppose or work to defeat. It’s especially used when the thing to be defeated is intangible or abstract, as in We need to combat climate change or Our organization works to combat poverty. The figurative senses of the verbs fight and battle are close synonyms of this sense of combat. The sides engaging in combat can be called combatants. The adjective combative means inclined to fight. Example: The objective of basic training is to prepare our soldiers for combat.
Synonym Usage
See fight
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
combaternoun
-
intercombatnoun
-
precombatnoun
-
combatableadjective
-
self-combatingadjective
-
uncombatableadjective
-
uncombatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
combatsimple
-
combatssimple
-
have combatedperfect
-
have combattedperfect
-
has combatedperfect
-
has combattedperfect
-
am combatingprogressive
-
am combattingprogressive
-
are combatingprogressive
-
are combattingprogressive
-
is combatingprogressive
-
is combattingprogressive
-
have been combatingperfect progressive
-
have been combattingperfect progressive
-
has been combatingperfect progressive
-
has been combattingperfect progressive
Past
-
combatedsimple
-
combattedsimple
-
had combatedperfect
-
had combattedperfect
-
was combatingprogressive
-
was combattingprogressive
-
were combatingprogressive
-
were combattingprogressive
-
had been combatingperfect progressive
-
had been combattingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of combat
First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French combat (noun), combattre (verb), from Late Latin combattere, from Latin com- com- + Late Latin battere, from Latin battuere “to strike, beat”
Explanation
Combat is fighting between two groups of armed forces. When you engage in combat, typically this means you engage in fighting that involves weapons. Combat comes from the Latin com- meaning "together with" and battere meaning "to fight." Combat can be used as a modifier; for example, a combat zone is an area where fighting is taking place. The word combat can also be used to refer to the action of fighting against something to prevent it. An after-school program for kids is working to combat the issue of street violence by creating a safe space where kids can go as an alternative.
Vocabulary lists containing combat
Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Memorial Day: Words of Respect and Remembrance
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beowulf vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Since there isn’t much in the way of conversation, the bruising combat scenes take center stage to head-spinning effect.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
However, Cyborg's next move could take her away from combat sports entirely, given she her interest in training to become a veterinary surgeon.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Many Fed officials favor raising rates to combat inflation, bond prices surge, Trump meets crypto execs, and more news to start your day.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The format was developed during an era when Hollywood was attempting to combat the rising popularity of television.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
All over the USSR, women who could fly were now assigned to train new pilots—many of them young men who’d be flying off to combat missions.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
The Man of Steel combats gigantic robots programmed to abscond with jewels and other valuables and then take to the air to return to their mad-genius minder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Even as her unsinkable, emotionally complicated boss combats Ava’s efforts to elevate the show at every turn, Ava’s maturation stands out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025
The IDF did not respond to BBC requests for comment on how it combats organised looting and smuggling.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2024
Nrf2 combats this toxic stress in brain cells, helping to stave off disease.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
She combats this by trying her hardest never to get her hopes up, and urging everyone else to do the same.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Experts say the refurbished phone was likely loaded with spyware, and that she could have combated this by restoring factory settings before setting it up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Newsom drew a parallel to the plague of retail theft that captivated the state not long ago, and which the state has successfully combated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Google has also combated the idea that AI will kill its Search business by developing AI Overviews and AI Search.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 12, 2025
Meanwhile, piggery managers combated mosquitoes by mowing grass, applying insecticides, removing standing water, and repairing window screens in offices and lunch rooms.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 21, 2023
It was possible, and sometimes she thought it probable, that his affection might be reanimated, and the influence of his friends successfully combated by the more natural influence of Jane’s attractions.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
The freight company has combatted a weak shipping economy by controlling costs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
Even in industries that have long combatted workers' attempts to organize, like food service, workers have seen ongoing progress towards unionization and scored big political wins, like the creation of California's fast food labor council.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2023
If you find an egg mass on a tree that you can scrape off, you’re making a bigger impact, but realistically the only way the infestation can be combatted is on an industrial scale.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2022
Blinken said in a message sent to all department employees that the vandalism is a painful reminder that antisemitism remains an issue in the U.S. and around the world and must be combatted relentlessly.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2021
For several centuries the early Church held within its bosom many earnest advocates of Reincarnation, and the teaching was recognized as vital even by those who combatted it.
From Reincarnation and the Law of Karma A Study of the Old-New World-Doctrine of Rebirth, and Spiritual Cause and Effect by William Walker Atkinson
“We’ve spent a ton of resources in Minneapolis combating fraud, and that includes a very intense look at the leadership and the programs and who’s administering them,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said this week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
They are the principal concern for the thousands of crews and volunteers combating the wildfires that have raged here for a week, forcing tens of thousands of residents and tourists to flee.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
All nine companies are failing when it comes to combating "existential" threats such as pursuing models that reach human-level intelligence, known as "artificial general intelligence" or AGI, the report said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
In a press release, Bonta reiterated his commitment to combating hate in California, and said the data obtained are accessible and critical to stopping such crimes in the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
I can feel my mind immediately combating the body.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
An Israeli military official admitted that the primary bottleneck in combatting the threat came from "gaps in weapons development".
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Iran's envoy to Ukraine, Shahriar Amouzegar, dismissed the support Kyiv has offered to the United States and its Gulf allies in combatting drones as "a joke", in an interview with AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
The official said the Syrian government has agreed to take the lead combatting terrorism within its borders and US military presence "at scale" is no longer required.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
He said in his resignation letter his contributions included investigating why generative AI systems suck up to users, combatting AI-assisted bioterrorism risks and researching "how AI assistants could make us less human".
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026
She claimed to be an expert in combatting cold weather and in avoiding head colds.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
