fight
verb (used without object)
to engage in battle or in single combat; attempt to defend oneself against or to subdue, defeat, or destroy an adversary.
had been fighting
-
past perfect progressiveof fight.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Members of the Goldman family had been fighting over money since the 1980s, lobbing accusations of cheating and fraud and mental illness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Kinahan lived in Dubai for a decade before he was arrested in April, and had been fighting extradition since then.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, which had been fighting with Malian forces against jihadists since 2021, ended its involvement in June 2025.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
“So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since Day One, when your executive is literally proud to tell you that he didn’t watch it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Teller dismissed the offer out of hand, damning it as exactly the sort of half measure he had been fighting for years.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
