fight off
Britishverb
-
to repulse; repel
-
to struggle to avoid or repress
to fight off a cold
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.
A ragtag group of Duffer Brothers misfits teaming up to fight off eldritch horror might be the last safe bet in television.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Watching women fight off the arms of the occult has a clock on it.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
On the shorter-term daily charts, the ETF managed to fight off a bear push at the end of 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026
Although he beat the count, he staggered back to his feet, prompting the referee to wave the fight off.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026
“So the Lakota leaders, like Spotted Tail, knew the odds were against us. It was like one cricket trying to fight off a thousand hungry ants.”
From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III
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.
