skir·mish
ˈskər-mish 
1
: a minor fight in war usually incidental to larger movements
2
a
: a brisk preliminary verbal conflict
b
: a minor dispute or contest between opposing parties
the debate touched off a skirmish
skirmished; skirmishing; skirmishes
skirmisher
noun
Synonyms
Examples of skirmish in a Sentence
Noun
Skirmishes broke out between rebel groups.
Violent skirmishes with the enemy continue despite talks of peace.
Verb
Rebel groups are skirmishing with military forces.
The presidential candidates skirmished over their economic plans.
Recent Examples on the Web
Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Those skirmishes, though bloody, have remained contained.
—Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2024
The decision follows legal skirmishes over the new state law, known as Senate Bill 4.
—Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
The skirmish along Israel’s northern border is being fought in parallel with the more intense war in Gaza, which Israel launched after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
—Isabel Kershner Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where daily skirmishes persist with Hezbollah, the IDF has gained the advantage, having eliminated more than 200 of the group’s commanders and operatives.
—Amos Yadlin, Foreign Affairs, 8 Mar. 2024
Significantly outnumbered by the number of Chinese vessels, the four ships in the Philippine convoy on a resupply mission to troops were quickly surrounded and separated during a frantic high seas skirmish on Tuesday morning.
—Rebecca Wright, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024
The last foster child, an older boy named James, stayed for seven years, and Powell grew up thinking of him as her actual big brother, complete with all the skirmishes and antics that come with traditional siblings.
—Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The two sides have been engaging in skirmishes that have been confined to a few kilometers on each side of the border, although Israel last month struck as deep as 100 kilometers into Lebanon.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2023
War in the Middle East As a protest calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip blocked southbound traffic on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, video footage showed angry motorists skirmishing with demonstrators.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023
Protesters also smashed windows at the Indian consulate In San Francisco and skirmished with embassy workers.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
Its constituent economies have performed unevenly, and its member states have occasionally locked horns, with India and China violently skirmishing along their rugged, contested border.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023
Investigators were looking for evidence of stock price manipulation between February and March when the two camps were skirmishing.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 19 Apr. 2023
Bohdan Tsymbal, an Azov junior sergeant, staged lighting raids with his artillery unit to skirmish with Russian fighters and gather supplies for the civilians inside the plant.
—New York Times, 20 July 2022
Dealing with caffeine withdrawals while simultaneously trying to skirmish for the last tin of beans is not ideal.
—Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 26 Feb. 2022
Protesters also skirmished with officers, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas in a repeat of Tuesday night's confrontation.
—Doug Glass, Anchorage Daily News, 28 May 2020
Noun
One skirmish occurred this month in the state Senate’s Natural Resources and Water Committee over two bills that would have weakened the state Coastal Commission’s authority over housing development along the coast.
—Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Those skirmishes, though bloody, have remained contained.
—Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2024
The decision follows legal skirmishes over the new state law, known as Senate Bill 4.
—Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
The skirmish along Israel’s northern border is being fought in parallel with the more intense war in Gaza, which Israel launched after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
—Isabel Kershner Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where daily skirmishes persist with Hezbollah, the IDF has gained the advantage, having eliminated more than 200 of the group’s commanders and operatives.
—Amos Yadlin, Foreign Affairs, 8 Mar. 2024
Significantly outnumbered by the number of Chinese vessels, the four ships in the Philippine convoy on a resupply mission to troops were quickly surrounded and separated during a frantic high seas skirmish on Tuesday morning.
—Rebecca Wright, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024
The last foster child, an older boy named James, stayed for seven years, and Powell grew up thinking of him as her actual big brother, complete with all the skirmishes and antics that come with traditional siblings.
—Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The two sides have been engaging in skirmishes that have been confined to a few kilometers on each side of the border, although Israel last month struck as deep as 100 kilometers into Lebanon.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
Verb
As recently as the 1960s, China and the Soviet Union were quarreling over the placement of their border and their troops skirmished.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2023
War in the Middle East As a protest calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip blocked southbound traffic on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, video footage showed angry motorists skirmishing with demonstrators.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023
Protesters also smashed windows at the Indian consulate In San Francisco and skirmished with embassy workers.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
Its constituent economies have performed unevenly, and its member states have occasionally locked horns, with India and China violently skirmishing along their rugged, contested border.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023
Investigators were looking for evidence of stock price manipulation between February and March when the two camps were skirmishing.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 19 Apr. 2023
Bohdan Tsymbal, an Azov junior sergeant, staged lighting raids with his artillery unit to skirmish with Russian fighters and gather supplies for the civilians inside the plant.
—New York Times, 20 July 2022
Dealing with caffeine withdrawals while simultaneously trying to skirmish for the last tin of beans is not ideal.
—Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 26 Feb. 2022
Protesters also skirmished with officers, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas in a repeat of Tuesday night's confrontation.
—Doug Glass, Anchorage Daily News, 28 May 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skirmish.' 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 skirmish
Cite this Entry
“Skirmish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skirmish. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
skirmish
1 of 2 noun
skir·mish
ˈskər-mish
1
: a minor fight between small bodies of troops
2
: a minor dispute or contest
skirmish
2 of 2 verb1
: to engage in a skirmish
2
: to search about (as for supplies)
skirmisher
noun
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