Dictionary.com
definitions

combat

[verb kuhm-bat, kom-bat, kuhm-; noun kom-bat, kuhm-]
verb (used with object), com·bat·ed, com·bat·ing or (especially British) com·bat·ted, com·bat·ting.
  1. 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.
  1. to battle; contend: to combat with disease.
noun
  1. Military. active, armed fighting with enemy forces.
  2. a fight, struggle, or controversy, as between two persons, teams, or ideas.

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
Related formscom·bat·a·ble, adjectivein·ter·com·bat, nounpre·com·bat, noun, verb, pre·com·bat·ed, pre·com·bat·ing or (especially British) pre·com·bat·ted, pre·com·bat·ting.self-com·bat·ing, adjectiveun·com·bat·a·ble, adjectiveun·com·bat·ed, adjective

Synonyms for combat

1, 2. struggle, contest.

Synonym study

3. See fight
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for combatting

warfare, contest, fray, engagement, encounter, fight, action, struggle, skirmish, war, conflict, shoot-out, withstand, cope, resist, repel, oppose, jackpot, flap, service

Examples from the Web for combatting

Contemporary Examples of combatting

Historical Examples of combatting

  • Here we behold Malthusianism as a new weapon for combatting Socialism.

  • I may wish that I had your spirit and energy and power of combatting; but I have not.

    Barchester Towers

    Anthony Trollope

  • As far as he could, he made himself over—recognizing and combatting his weaknesses with heroic courage.

  • They must know about fortifications—anti-aircraft guns—means for combatting aerial attack.

  • A feeling of revulsion swept over her, combatting the first natural, womanly pride in the deed of a brave man.

    The Man From Brodney's

    George Barr McCutcheon

British Dictionary definitions for combatting

combat

noun (ˈkɒmbæt, -bət, ˈkʌm-)
  1. a fight, conflict, or struggle
    1. an action fought between two military forces
    2. (as modifier)a combat jacket
  3. single combat a fight between two individuals; duel
  4. close combat or hand-to-hand combat fighting at close quarters
verb (kəmˈbæt, ˈkɒmbæt, ˈkʌm-) -bats, -bating or -bated
  1. (tr) to fight or defy
  2. (intr; often foll by with or against) to struggle or strive (against); be in conflict (with)to combat against disease
Derived Formscombatable, 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
Word Origin and History for combatting

combat

v.

1560s, from Middle French combat (16c.), from Old French combattre (12c.), from Late Latin combattere, from Latin com- "with" (each other) (see com-) + battuere "to beat, fight" (see batter (v.)). Related: Combated; combating; combatted; combatting.

combat

n.

1560s, from Middle French combat (16c.), from combattre (see combat (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper