firefight

[fahyuhr-fahyt]

noun

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

firefight

/ ˈfaɪəˌfaɪt /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of firefight¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; fire + fight

Example Sentences

The Israeli military determined that Lt Goldin was killed along with two other soldiers in a firefight, and that his body was then dragged into an underground tunnel by the Hamas fighters.

Read more on BBC

He once had to dive for cover during a firefight.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Batista’s soldiers sped to the scene, and the ensuing firefight reduced Castro’s force to twenty-one.

Read more on Literature

Hamas gunmen also killed two Israeli soldiers in a firefight—though Hamas claimed the culprits were rival radical militias, with whom they were engaged in their own internecine conflict.

Read more on Slate

After a 10-minute firefight, the half-dozen attackers fled with their wounded across the Euphrates River into areas controlled by Syria’s government, which SDF commanders say are more lightly patrolled.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal