skirmish
Americannoun
-
skirmishes
plural
verb (used without object)
-
skirmishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
skirmished,
past participle, past
-
skirmishing
present participle
noun
-
a minor short-lived military engagement
-
any brisk clash or encounter, usually of a minor nature
verb
Synonym Usage
See battle 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
skirmishsimple
-
skirmishessimple
-
have skirmishedperfect
-
has skirmishedperfect
-
am skirmishingprogressive
-
are skirmishingprogressive
-
is skirmishingprogressive
-
have been skirmishingperfect progressive
-
has been skirmishingperfect progressive
Past
-
skirmishedsimple
-
had skirmishedperfect
-
was skirmishingprogressive
-
were skirmishingprogressive
-
had been skirmishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of skirmish
1300–50; (noun) Middle English skirmysshe < Old French eskirmiss-, long stem of eskirmir < Germanic (compare Old High German skirman ); replacing Middle English scarmouche < Old French escaramoucher ( see Scaramouch); (v.) late Middle English scarmuchen, scarmusshen to skirmish, Middle English skirmisshen to brandish a weapon < Old French escar ( a ) mucher to skirmish; vowels influenced by Old French eskirmiss-
Explanation
A skirmish is a small fight — more a dust-up than a full-out battle — and it can refer to a physical fight or just a battle of words. It is definitely confrontational, though. Think of a skirmish as kind of a mini-battle, although a military skirmish can end with casualties. Still, although such an encounter can be serious, even the very word skirmish sounds slight, like a stirring of dust in the breeze. Shakespeare referred to the combative nature of his characters Beatrice and Benedick, in "Much Ado About Nothing," as "a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her: they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them."
Vocabulary lists containing skirmish
Much Ado About Nothing
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week In Words: August 30–September 4, 2020
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
My Brother Sam is Dead
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The skirmish illustrates how America’s grid is being strained by AI power demand and increasingly common wildfires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
But if the first go-rounds last year were tragedy—depressing stocks, spiking prices, and rending hearts in both countries—the latest skirmish is starting to look more like farce.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
According to him the war in Lebanon is "a separate skirmish".
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
The legal skirmish cast a cloud over Shell’s tenure helping lead the company because the Ellisons wanted to stay focused on running Paramount and their Warner Bros. takeover.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
He told me later he had received the wound during a border skirmish with the outlaw dragons who lived in the hills of the seashore.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
Thanks to skirmishes with Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup, Pollock has pantomime villain status in the country.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Unitree humanoids are among the world's most recognisable, having wowed audiences with fluid martial arts dances and robot-on-robot kickboxing skirmishes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The skirmishes forced the U.S. and its regional allies to use more of their shrinking supply of defensive interceptors and carried high risks to Gulf energy infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Air Force was created as an independent branch of the armed forces in 1947, inspired and instantly strengthened by the belief that air power can win modern wars without the messy skirmishes of ground troops.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Whatever bow they carried, all of Balaq’s men were sharp-eyed, seasoned veterans who had proved their worth in a hundred battles, raids, and skirmishes.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
He skirmished with health department officials and at times the White House, where some came to regard him as a rogue agent, the Journal previously reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Hezbollah and Israel have skirmished along the tense Lebanon-Israel border.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 26, 2023
Even as Europe’s leaders skirmished over Ukrainian grain, Ukraine itself was given encouragement on Thursday that it would eventually be accepted into the European military fold.
From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2023
Both empires had ambitions to expand their influence, and they regularly skirmished with one another and attempted to meddle in each other’s politics, including by supporting rival claimants to the throne.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
France, England, and other countries skirmished throughout the first half of the eighteenth century, and roughly a quarter century after Newton died, a full-scale war erupted.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Oil prices are higher too overnight after more skirmishing in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Amid the legal skirmishing, news of the indictment was a relief to the victim jewelers, at least eight of whom are based in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
Black does well in the early skirmishing in this Four Knights Game, but fails to respond adequately when Kupchik opens up the play in the center.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
The skirmishing for influence has reached almost comical proportions.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2023
Obie looked down at the field where the guys were skirmishing in the shadow of the goal posts.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
