skirmish
noun
a fight between small bodies of troops, especially advanced or outlying detachments of opposing armies.
had been skirmishing
-
past perfect progressiveof skirmish.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.
In the dressing room, officials who had been skirmishing earlier now laughed and shook hands and posed for photographs.
From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2014
Unilever subsidiary Ragu Foods, which since 1989 had been skirmishing over the same word on labels for its processed pasta sauce, soon dropped its fight.
From Time Magazine Archive
The three pursuit planes with which they had been skirmishing were now out of mind, as well as out of sight.
From Ruth Fielding Homeward Bound A Red Cross Worker's Ocean Perils by Alice B. Emerson
It was on the second day out, after they had been skirmishing for water in every direction, that the lads heard the familiar yell from Chunky.
From The Pony Rider Boys in New Mexico Or, the End of the Silver Trail by Frank Gee Patchin
He had been skirmishing all the earlier part of the day with the Rifles, when a sudden charge of French cavalry placed him in great danger.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 2, No. 12, May, 1851. by Various
