fight off

British  

verb

1. to repulse; repel

2. to struggle to avoid or repress

   to fight off a cold

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fight off Idioms  

1. Defend against, drive back, as in I've been fighting off a cold all week. This figurative use of the term, originally meaning “to repel an enemy” dates from the early 1800s.

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Example Sentences

As Caine spoke, the president’s eyes appeared closed, as if he were fighting off sleep while standing up.

From Salon

Queen Camilla has spoken for the first time publicly about fighting off an attacker on a train when she was a teenager, in an interview broadcast Wednesday.

From Barron's

“You don’t anticipate any resistance, because these tanker operators are just people hired to operate tankers, and there’s nothing for them to gain if they fight off one of these inspection parties,” Clark said.

From The Wall Street Journal

"You can't come in and nick a fight off me. I kept applying pressure and forced him to the ropes, and he couldn't keep up with the pace."

From BBC

Hlushko of Ukraine’s Separate Presidential Brigade said his unit fought off a typical Russian assault on Wednesday, destroying a couple of military vehicles as the Russians sought to take advantage of snowy weather.

From The Wall Street Journal