He was shot down in a dogfight over enemy territory.
The election has turned into a real dogfight.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dogfight.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
circa 1656
ball game, battle, combat, competition, conflict, confrontation, contention, contest, duel, face-off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfare;
clash, collision, discord, friction;
argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), quarrel, row, wrangle;
: a fight between dogs
: a fight between fighter planes that are flying close to each other
: a fierce fight or struggle between people or groups
See words that rhyme with dogfight Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dogfight Nglish: Translation of dogfight for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dogfight
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