dogfight

noun

dog·​fight ˈdȯg-ˌfīt How to pronounce dogfight (audio)
1
: a fight between dogs
broadly : a fiercely disputed contest
2
: a fight between two or more fighter planes usually at close quarters
dogfight intransitive verb
dogfighter noun

Examples of dogfight in a Sentence

He was shot down in a dogfight over enemy territory. The election has turned into a real dogfight.
Recent Examples on the Web The question is whether the dogfight to get there strengthen them for postseason play or leaves them worn down and without the energy to make a run. Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2024 With Luddy and Case again headlining the matchup, both teams relied on their best players to be not just scorers, but defenders and facilitators as the first half was a defensive dogfight. Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2024 Russia and Ukraine will focus more on eliminating each other’s weapons and engaging in drone-to-drone dogfights. Eric Schmidt, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2024 After taking a 15-point first-half lead behind sizzling shooting and smothering defense, the Spartans once again found themselves in another dogfight. Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024 The timing of the saga coincidentally fell in Tusk’s first weeks, and in the wake of the clash over TVP, intensifying the dogfight between Tusk and his predecessors in power. Rob Picheta, CNN, 27 Jan. 2024 The program's director told Knapp about the Russian warplane dogfights with UFOs. Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 29 July 2023 Expect an absolute dogfight between the AFC North's top teams. The Enquirer, 8 Sep. 2023 The win not only set the tone for the rest of the Owls’ season, but ultimately served as a showcase of two conference’s better teams as the county looks forward to another competitive dogfight for the title in 2023. Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dogfight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dogfight was circa 1656

Dictionary Entries Near dogfight

Cite this Entry

“Dogfight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogfight. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dogfight

noun
dog·​fight -ˌfīt How to pronounce dogfight (audio)
: a fight at close range between fighter planes
dogfight verb
dogfighter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dogfight

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