battle

1 a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective <passing the driving test was an uphill battle, but she finally succeeded> Synonyms struggle, fight, fray, scrabble, throesRelated Words effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, work; drudgery, grind, sweat, toil, travail; combat, conflict, contest, strife, tussle, war, warfare; attempt, endeavor, essay, try

2 a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups <a battle between rival gangs left two people lying dead on the street> Synonyms fight, clash, combat, conflict, contest, dustup, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussleRelated Words pitched battle, rough-and-tumble; affray [chiefly British], battle royal, brawl, broil, donnybrook, free-for-all, melee (also mêlée), mix-up, ruckus, ruction; blows, fistfight, fisticuffs, grapple, handgrips, punch-out, punch-up [chiefly British], slugfest; confrontation, duel, face-off, joust; altercation, argle-bargle [chiefly British], argument, argy-bargy [chiefly British], contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, falling-out, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, row, spat, squabble, tangle, tiff, wrangle; catfightNear Antonyms truce

3 active fighting during the course of a war <soldiers who desperately wanted to forget the horrors that they had witnessed in battle> Synonyms action, combat, fieldRelated Words attack, fire, firefight, pitched battle, single combat; hostilities, operations, warfare; duty, service

4 an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another <the chess game was a real battle between two of the world's best players> Synonyms ball game, contest, combat, competition, conflict, confrontation, contention, dogfight, duel, face-off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfareRelated Words horse race, nail-biter; showdown; clash, collision, discord, friction; argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), quarrel, row, wrangleNear Antonyms concord, harmony, peace