fought
ˈfȯt 
; fighting
; fighting
1
a
: to contend in battle or physical combat
especially
: to strive to overcome a person by blows or weapons
The soldiers fought bravely.
b
: to engage in boxing
He will fight for the heavyweight title next month.
2
: to put forth a determined effort
They were fighting to stay awake.
1
a(1)
: to contend against in or as if in battle or physical combat
fought the invaders of his homeland
was fighting a forest fire
(2)
: to box against in the ring
fought several strong contenders
b(1)
: to attempt to prevent the success or effectiveness of
the company fought the takeover attempt
(2)
: to oppose the passage or development of
fight a bill in Congress
3
: to struggle to endure or surmount
fight a cold
is fighting cancer
4
a
: to gain by struggle
fights his way through
b
: to resolve by struggle
fought out their differences in court
5
a
: to manage (a ship) in a battle or storm
b
: to cause to struggle or contend
c
: to manage in an unnecessarily rough or awkward manner
Synonyms
Examples of fight in a Sentence
Verb
When he was young he was always fighting.
He fought like a tiger.
The U.S. and Germany fought in World Wars I and II.
They vowed to fight the invaders of their homeland.
The U.S. fought Germany in World Wars I and II.
He and his wife are always fighting over money.
We were fighting to protect our jobs.
Noun
A fight broke out in the bar.
When he was young he was always getting into fights.
He got into another fight with his wife about money.
a fight for the heavyweight title
Recent Examples on the Web
Tony Capaccio, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
In 2006, after Hezbollah fighters crossed the border, Israel and Hezbollah fought a vicious thirty-four-day war that left large parts of Lebanon in ruins.
—Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2024
The local chapter of the United Steelworkers Union, which had more than 600 members employed at the refinery, was fighting to get jobs back.
—Rachel Ramirez, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
Iran and Israel have been fighting a shadow war for years, but on April 13, the conflict came into the open.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2024
An iconic photo that The Washington Post published of Monarch Novelties in 1968 — after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. sparked riots in D.C. that left parts of the city burning — shows the family who worked and lived in the building fighting to save it.
—Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
The attendees were fighting the war that Bradley had lost just a short distance away.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
The House took a critical first step on Friday toward reauthorizing a law extending an expiring warrantless surveillance law that national security officials say is crucial to fighting terrorism, voting to take it up two days after a previous attempt to pass it collapsed.
—Charlie Savage, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
The action movie icon, who first fought Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984’s classic The Terminator and then teamed up with him in two follow-up films, sits down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter wearing a beanie emblazoned with two words: Resident Alien.
—Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
Kyle Denis, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Central banks in the United States, Europe and key emerging markets are making progress corralling inflation, though the fund warned that the fight against rising prices is not yet won.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Bass told an audience gathered at City Hall on Monday evening that her administration has already made crucial strides in the fight against homelessness, in part by working more closely with county, state and federal agencies.
—Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
YouTube is bringing its ad blocker fight to mobile.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 15 Apr. 2024
The fight was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, and several other celebrities were in attendance including Mike Tyson and Mark Zuckerberg.
—Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
Interest rates are currently sitting at 5.25% to 5.5% amid the Fed’s ongoing fight against inflation, which has fallen considerably from its 2022 highs but remains elevated above the Fed’s target of 2%.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, director Danya Taymor keeps Ponyboy and his pals moving at a swift gallop onstage, pausing only for a few slow motion fight sequences that were choreographed by brothers Rick and Jeff Kuperman.
—EW.com, 12 Apr. 2024
The other suspect punched the victim and, after the fight, the three got off the bus and went separate ways, police said.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
Verb
For decades, Israel and Iran have fought a shadow war, attacking each other mostly quietly and in Iran’s case often by proxy.
—Tony Capaccio, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
In 2006, after Hezbollah fighters crossed the border, Israel and Hezbollah fought a vicious thirty-four-day war that left large parts of Lebanon in ruins.
—Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2024
The local chapter of the United Steelworkers Union, which had more than 600 members employed at the refinery, was fighting to get jobs back.
—Rachel Ramirez, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
Iran and Israel have been fighting a shadow war for years, but on April 13, the conflict came into the open.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2024
An iconic photo that The Washington Post published of Monarch Novelties in 1968 — after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. sparked riots in D.C. that left parts of the city burning — shows the family who worked and lived in the building fighting to save it.
—Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
The attendees were fighting the war that Bradley had lost just a short distance away.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
The House took a critical first step on Friday toward reauthorizing a law extending an expiring warrantless surveillance law that national security officials say is crucial to fighting terrorism, voting to take it up two days after a previous attempt to pass it collapsed.
—Charlie Savage, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
The action movie icon, who first fought Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984’s classic The Terminator and then teamed up with him in two follow-up films, sits down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter wearing a beanie emblazoned with two words: Resident Alien.
—Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
Noun
In 2009, Taylor earned an Oscar nomination for best documentary short film for The Final Inch, which chronicled the fight to eradicate polio.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Central banks in the United States, Europe and key emerging markets are making progress corralling inflation, though the fund warned that the fight against rising prices is not yet won.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Bass told an audience gathered at City Hall on Monday evening that her administration has already made crucial strides in the fight against homelessness, in part by working more closely with county, state and federal agencies.
—Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
YouTube is bringing its ad blocker fight to mobile.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 15 Apr. 2024
The fight was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, and several other celebrities were in attendance including Mike Tyson and Mark Zuckerberg.
—Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
Interest rates are currently sitting at 5.25% to 5.5% amid the Fed’s ongoing fight against inflation, which has fallen considerably from its 2022 highs but remains elevated above the Fed’s target of 2%.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, director Danya Taymor keeps Ponyboy and his pals moving at a swift gallop onstage, pausing only for a few slow motion fight sequences that were choreographed by brothers Rick and Jeff Kuperman.
—EW.com, 12 Apr. 2024
The other suspect punched the victim and, after the fight, the three got off the bus and went separate ways, police said.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fight
Cite this Entry
“Fight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fight. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fight
1 of 2 verb
fought
ˈfȯt
; fighting
; fighting
1
a
: to struggle against another in battle or physical combat
2
: to try hard
fighting to stay awake
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