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
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
Royce Williams, who is eligible to receive the Medal of Honor for his 1952 dogfight against seven Soviet MiGs, which was classified top secret for more than 50 years.
—
Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images During the Korean War in 1952, Williams shot down four Soviet MiG-15 jets during a 35-minute dogfight with seven Soviet jets while flying off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.
—CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Williams didn’t speak about the details of the encounter — even with family members — until records about the dogfight were declassified in 2002.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
In the skies over Korea in 1952, Royce was in the dogfight of a lifetime, legendary dogfight.
—February 25, NPR, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dogfight
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Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images During the Korean War in 1952, Williams shot down four Soviet MiG-15 jets during a 35-minute dogfight with seven Soviet jets while flying off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.
—CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Williams didn’t speak about the details of the encounter — even with family members — until records about the dogfight were declassified in 2002.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
In the skies over Korea in 1952, Royce was in the dogfight of a lifetime, legendary dogfight.
—February 25, NPR, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dogfight
Cite this Entry
“Dogfight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogfight. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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