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combat

[ verb kuhm-bat, kom-bat, kuhm-; noun kom-bat, kuhm- ]
/ verb kəmˈbæt, ˈkɒm bæt, ˈkʌm-; noun ˈkɒm bæt, ˈkʌm- /
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See synonyms for: combat / combated / combating on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), com·bat·ed, com·bat·ing or (especially British) com·bat·ted, com·bat·ting.
to fight or contend against; oppose vigorously: to combat crime.
verb (used without object), com·bat·ed, com·bat·ing or (especially British) com·bat·ted, com·bat·ting.
to battle; contend: to combat with disease.
noun
Military. active, armed fighting with enemy forces.
a fight, struggle, or controversy, as between two persons, teams, or ideas.
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Origin of combat

1535–45; <Middle French combat (noun), combattre (v.) <Late Latin combattere, equivalent to Latin com-com- + Late Latin battere, for Latin battuere to strike, beat

synonym study for combat

3. See fight

OTHER WORDS FROM combat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to combat

action, conflict, contest, encounter, engagement, fight, fray, shootout, skirmish, struggle, war, warfare, cope, oppose, repel, resist, withstand, affray, brush, brush-off

How to use combat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for combat

combat
noun (ˈkɒmbæt, -bət, ˈkʌm-)
a fight, conflict, or struggle
  1. an action fought between two military forces
  2. (as modifier)a combat jacket
single combat a fight between two individuals; duel
close combat or hand-to-hand combat fighting at close quarters
verb (kəmˈbæt, ˈkɒmbæt, ˈkʌm-) -bats, -bating or -bated
(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

Derived forms of combat

combatable, adjectivecombater, noun

Word Origin for combat

C16: from French, from Old French combattre, from Vulgar Latin combattere (unattested), from Latin com- with + battuere to beat, hit
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
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