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dogfight

American  
[dawg-fahyt, dog-] / ˈdɔgˌfaɪt, ˈdɒg- /

noun

  1. a violent fight between dogs.

  2. a fight between warring fighter planes.

  3. any rough-and-tumble physical battle.

verb (used with object)

dogfought, dogfighting

  1. to engage in a dogfight with.

verb (used without object)

dogfought, dogfighting

  1. to engage in a dogfight.

dogfight British  
/ ˈdɒɡˌfaɪt /

noun

  1. close quarters combat between fighter aircraft

  2. any rough violent fight

"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

Etymology

Origin of dogfight

1650–60; 1915 dogfight for def. 2; dog + fight

Vocabulary lists containing dogfight

World War I

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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.

Williams didn’t speak about the details of the encounter — even with family members — until records about the dogfight were declassified in 2002.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

Last weekend Osasuna winger Munoz impressed as his team won away for the first time all season, for back-to-back wins to take them away from the relegation dogfight.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

Medals of honor tend to require eyewitnesses, though Mr. Issa notes that Soviet records testify to the dogfight.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

It is easier to play high tempo, ambitious rugby on a summer tour and against southern hemisphere opposition than in the depths of a Six Nations dogfight.

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2025

Reaching the dogfight, I saw the big hound was almost gone.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls

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.