skirmish
noun
a fight between small bodies of troops, especially advanced or outlying detachments of opposing armies.
were skirmishing
-
past progressiveof skirmish.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Soon the teams were skirmishing after almost every play.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2012
Years after the squabble seemed to have been won, U.S. colleges and universities last week were skirmishing with their old hoodoo, the loyalty oath.
From Time Magazine Archive
Before Habib even got to see Hafez Assad, Israeli and Syrian forces were skirmishing, and Israeli jets had attacked Syrian missile batteries in the Bekaa Valley.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
Before the commencement of this attack our company and the Grenadiers of the 73d were skirmishing briskly in the low ground, covering our guns, and annoying those of the enemy.
From The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy
