firefight

[fahyuh r-fahyt]

noun

an exchange of gunfire between two opposing forces, especially a skirmish between military forces.

Origin of firefight

First recorded in 1895–1900; fire + fight

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

Examples from the Web for firefight

Contemporary Examples of firefight

What often is forgotten—and what Beck could probably stand to remember—is that the massacre was, technically, a firefight.
Glenn Beck Is Now Selling Hipster Clothes. Really.
Ana Marie Cox
December 20, 2014
Less than 30 minutes after the firefight started, commandos entered the compound and found the mortally wounded hostages.
Did U.S. Policy Get Luke Somers Killed?
Shane Harris
December 6, 2014
There is something about a firefight at night, something about the mechanical elegance of an M-60 machine gun.
War Is Hell and Such Good Fun
Don Gomez
November 11, 2014
The day after the assault, ISAF announced that forces had stumbled upon the dead women after a firefight with insurgents.
Obama's Pentagon Covered Up War Crimes in Afghanistan, Says Amnesty International
Nico Hines, Sami Yousafzai
August 11, 2014
The U.S. then contacted the Mexican marines, who did not hesitate, engaging Beltran and his gunmen in a 90-minute firefight.
For Mexico’s Marines, An Epic Cartel Bust With Another Tragedy in Mind
Michael Daly
March 1, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for firefight

firefight

noun

a brief small-scale engagement between opposing military ground forces using short-range light weapons

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