battle

play

noun, often attributive bat·tle \ ˈba-tᵊl \

Definition of battle

1 archaic :battalion

2 :a combat between two persons

3 :a general encounter between armies, ships of war, or aircraft

the battle of Normandy

soldiers who fell in battle

4 :an extended contest, struggle, or controversy

a battle of wits

5 :a struggle to succeed or survive

her battle with cancer

… I came home and faced an uphill battle to gain support for the treaty in the U.S. Senate.
—Al Gore

— do battle

:to engage in a fight or struggle

… used to do battle with the fearless radicals of the Socialist Workers Party …
—Salman Rushdie

— half the battle

:an important and necessary part of doing or achieving something

I think you will prosper, for the sincere wish to be good is half the battle.
—Louisa May Alcott

In the positioning war, half the battle is picking the right enemy.
—Ted Morgan

—often used with words like only and just to stress that something is not enough by itself to achieve a desired goal

Selecting which partners and investors to woo is only half the battle. Knowing how to pitch them is equally important.
—Michelle Goodman

— in the heat of (the) battle

:while fighting a battle

soldiers in the heat of battle

:during the stress of a struggle, argument, or confrontation

That's how we fight our battles in boxing … In the heat of battle we all say crazy things we are not accountable for.—Bob Arum

See battle defined for English-language learners

See battle defined for kids

Examples of battle in a Sentence

That two-day conflict has become one of the most famous battles in history.
The battle continued late into the night.
Thousands of soldiers were willing to go into battle to fight the enemy.
A police officer was injured in a gun battle that took place last night.
The company was involved in a legal battle with one of its employees.
the never-ending battle between good and evil

Recent Examples of battle from the Web

The most ambitious undertaking on the NATO side is Saber Guardian 17, a series of over a dozen distinct battle drills being carried out by 25,000 troops from 20 countries moving across Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

— chicagotribune.com, "NATO, Russian troops rattle swords along hundreds of miles of borderland," 19 July 2017
No doubt McConnell’s battle with polio was traumatic and costly.

— joseph gerth, The Courier-Journal, "When attacking Obamacare, McConnell should consider his own battle with polio | Joseph Gerth," 19 July 2017
The battle lines have been drawn, said Amitendu Palit, a senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore.

— shruti srivastava, Bloomberg.com, "China Border Tensions Cloud Asia Trade Pact Talks in India," 18 July 2017
A Dog’s Life Carbon Beach The enclave, also called Billionaires Beach, has been ground zero in the legal battle over Malibu public access.

— ann herold, Los Angeles Magazine, "These Photos Will Make You Fall in Love with LA’s Beaches All Over Again," 17 July 2017
The Kardashian family, meanwhile, is reportedly worried about how the battle between Rob and Chyna will affect their daughter, Dream. This post has been updated throughout.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Blac Chyna’s New Lawyer Represented the Women Who Accused Bill O’Reilly of Harassment," 7 July 2017
ISIS also captured the children of its enemies—from Yazidis to Christians—and brainwashed many of them in training camps before sending them off to battle as soldiers or suicide bombers.

— emily feldman, MSNBC Newsweek, "Can ISIS's Indoctrinated Kids be Saved From a Future of Violent Jihad?," 6 July 2017
The downside: If the complex arm and magazine loading system broke down or suffered battle damage, the ship lost a lot of firepower.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Navy Needs a Way to Reload Missile Silos at Sea," 6 July 2017
The university wants no part in turning the Quad into a battle ground or a nonpartisan zone.

— michael casagrande, AL.com, "Contract sheds light on Alabama tailgating regulations, who can rent tents," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'battle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of battle

Middle English batel, from Anglo-French bataille battle, battalion, from Late Latin battalia combat, alteration of battualia fencing exercises, from Latin battuere to beat

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First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

battle Synonyms

Synonyms

struggle, fight, fray, scrabble, throes

Related Words

effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, work; drudgery, grind, sweat, toil, travail; combat, conflict, contest, strife, tussle, war, warfare; attempt, endeavor, essay, try

Near Antonyms

truce

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

battle

verb

Definition of battle

battled; battling play \ˈbat-liŋ, ˈba-tᵊl-iŋ\

intransitive verb

1 :to engage in combat between individuals or armed forces :to engage in battle :fight

battling for control of the bridge

2 :to contend with full strength, vigor, skill, or resources :struggle

They battled to keep their son out of jail.

battling over how to spend the money

transitive verb

1 :to fight or struggle against

battling cancer

two teams set to battle each other for the championship

battling it out in the courtroom

2 :to force, thrust, or drive by battling

battling his way through the crowd

—

battler

play \-lər, ˈba-tᵊl-ər\ noun

— battle it out

:to engage in a prolonged fight, argument, or struggle

The two sides battled it out in court.

… predicting that she and her 15-year-old sister, Serena, would soon be battling it out for No. 1.
—S. L. Price

Recent Examples of battle from the Web

Multiple fire agencies across Los Angeles County spent Wednesday afternoon battling a 10-acre brush fire that broke out in the Verdugo Mountains above Burbank.

— andy nguyen, Burbank Leader, "Brush fire breaks out in Burbank," 29 June 2017
On May 3 at Burbank High, Julian battled through his shoulder injury to win the Pacific League 100 butterfly in 49.56, which set a league record.

— andrew j. campa, Glendale News-Press, "All-Area Boys’ Swimmer of the Year: Julian makes one last push for greatness," 24 June 2017
The next figure down, a shaman wearing a colorful bear-claw headdress and holding a rattle and mortar and pestle, represents doctors and caregivers battling cancer — and giving comfort to those who, like James, prove incurable.

— ron judd, The Seattle Times, "A master carver creates a totem pole to honor his sister-in-law," 22 June 2017
Mitchell, traditionally an off-guard, even played some point guard as U of L battled through injuries to starting frontman Quentin Snider and backup Tony Hicks.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "Donovan Mitchell 2017 NBA Draft scouting report," 20 June 2017
Both sides are battling the Islamic State group, with SDF fighters focusing on their march into the northern city of Raqqa, which the extremist group has declared to be its capital.

— bassem mroue and natalyia vasilyeva, chicagotribune.com, "Russia, Iran send warnings to U.S. after Syrian aircraft shot down," 19 June 2017
Photo: EPA MADRID—Forest fires raging through central Portugal have killed at least 61 people, a death toll that officials said is expected to rise as firefighters battle six major blazes.

— jeannette neumann, WSJ, "At Least 61 Dead From Forest Fires in Central Portugal," 18 June 2017
More than 350 soldiers and about 1,600 firefighters were battling to put out the blaze, which has spread into five distinct fires.

— j. weston phippen, The Atlantic, "A Deadly Forest Fire in Portugal," 18 June 2017
Forest fires raging through central Portugal have killed at least 61 people, a death toll that officials said is expected to rise as firefighters battle six major blazes.

— jeannette neumann, WSJ, "At Least 61 Dead From Forest Fires in Central Portugal," 18 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of battle

Middle English bataillen, borrowed from Anglo-French batailler, verbal derivative of bataille ¹battle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

battle

verb

Definition of battle

battled; battling

transitive verb

archaic

:to fortify with battlements

… beneath the battled tower.
—Alfred Tennyson

Recent Examples of battle from the Web

Multiple fire agencies across Los Angeles County spent Wednesday afternoon battling a 10-acre brush fire that broke out in the Verdugo Mountains above Burbank.

— andy nguyen, Burbank Leader, "Brush fire breaks out in Burbank," 29 June 2017
On May 3 at Burbank High, Julian battled through his shoulder injury to win the Pacific League 100 butterfly in 49.56, which set a league record.

— andrew j. campa, Glendale News-Press, "All-Area Boys’ Swimmer of the Year: Julian makes one last push for greatness," 24 June 2017
The next figure down, a shaman wearing a colorful bear-claw headdress and holding a rattle and mortar and pestle, represents doctors and caregivers battling cancer — and giving comfort to those who, like James, prove incurable.

— ron judd, The Seattle Times, "A master carver creates a totem pole to honor his sister-in-law," 22 June 2017
Mitchell, traditionally an off-guard, even played some point guard as U of L battled through injuries to starting frontman Quentin Snider and backup Tony Hicks.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "Donovan Mitchell 2017 NBA Draft scouting report," 20 June 2017
Both sides are battling the Islamic State group, with SDF fighters focusing on their march into the northern city of Raqqa, which the extremist group has declared to be its capital.

— bassem mroue and natalyia vasilyeva, chicagotribune.com, "Russia, Iran send warnings to U.S. after Syrian aircraft shot down," 19 June 2017
Photo: EPA MADRID—Forest fires raging through central Portugal have killed at least 61 people, a death toll that officials said is expected to rise as firefighters battle six major blazes.

— jeannette neumann, WSJ, "At Least 61 Dead From Forest Fires in Central Portugal," 18 June 2017
More than 350 soldiers and about 1,600 firefighters were battling to put out the blaze, which has spread into five distinct fires.

— j. weston phippen, The Atlantic, "A Deadly Forest Fire in Portugal," 18 June 2017
Forest fires raging through central Portugal have killed at least 61 people, a death toll that officials said is expected to rise as firefighters battle six major blazes.

— jeannette neumann, WSJ, "At Least 61 Dead From Forest Fires in Central Portugal," 18 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of battle

Middle English batailen, from Anglo-French bataillier to fortify with battlements, from Old French batailles battlemented tower, probably from plural of bataille battle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

BATTLE Defined for English Language Learners

battle

play

noun

Definition of battle for English Language Learners

: a military fight between groups of soldiers, ships, airplanes, etc.
: a violent fight in which people use weapons
: a fight between people or groups in which each side tries to win a contest (such as a game or an election) or to gain control of something (such as a company)

BATTLE Defined for Kids

battle

play

noun bat·tle \ ˈba-tᵊl \

Definition of battle for Students

1 :a fight between armies, warships, or airplanes

2 :a fight between two persons or animals

3 :a long or hard struggle or contest

the battle against hunger

4 :warfare 1, combat

battle

verb

Definition of battle for Students

battled; battling

1 :to engage in fighting

2 :to try to stop or defeat

battling a forest fire

Learn More about battle

See words that rhyme with battle Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for battle Spanish Central: Translation of battle Nglish: Translation of battle for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of battle for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about battle

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Near Antonyms

Other Military Terms

battle

Definition of battle

battler

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Origin and Etymology of battle

battle

Definition of battle

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battle

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