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
Up to this time we had been skirmishing occasionally with small squads of the enemy, but I could hear of no force of consequence in the country.
From The Battle of Atlanta and Other Campaigns, Addresses, Etc. by Grenville Mellen Dodge
He then learned that the militia had been skirmishing with the enemy during the night, and that Gen. Judah's advance had been ambushed, the morning being foggy; and the General's Assistant Adjutant General, Capt.
From Ridgeway An Historical Romance of the Fenian Invasion of Canada by Scian Dubh
In the afternoon the enemy, with whom General Wheeler had been skirmishing all day, advanced upon Lancaster, and opened upon the troops, collected about the place, with artillery.
From History of Morgan's Cavalry by Basil Wilson Duke
