combat

combat

noun

Definition of COMBAT

1

active fighting during the course of a war <a soldier who served throughout the war without actually seeing combat>

Synonyms action, battle, field

Related Words attack, fire, firefight, pitched battle, single combat; hostilities, operations, warfare; duty, service

2

a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups <the two stags entered a furious combat for dominance of the herd>

Synonyms battle, clash, combat, conflict, contest, dustup, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussle

Related 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; catfight

Near Antonyms truce

3

an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another <the fierce ideological combat between the religionists and the secularists>

Synonyms ball game, battle, combat, competition, conflict, confrontation, contention, dogfight, duel, face-off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfare

Related Words horse race, nail-biter; showdown; clash, collision, discord, friction; argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), quarrel, row, wrangle

Near Antonyms concord, harmony, peace