fight

verb \ ˈfīt \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

fought play \ˈfȯt\; fighting

intransitive verb

1 a : to contend in battle or physical combat; especially : to strive to overcome a person by blows or weapons

The soldiers fought bravely.

b : to engage in boxing

He will fight for the heavyweight title next month.

2 : to put forth a determined effort

They were fighting to stay awake.

transitive verb

1 a (1) : to contend against in or as if in battle or physical combat

fought the invaders of his homeland

was fighting a forest fire

(2) : to box against in the ring

fought several strong contenders

b (1) : to attempt to prevent the success or effectiveness of

the company fought the takeover attempt

(2) : to oppose the passage or development of

fight a bill in Congress

2 a : wage, carry on

fight a battle

b : to take part in (a boxing match or similar contest)

3 : to struggle to endure or surmount

fight a cold

is fighting cancer

4 a : to gain by struggle

fights his way through

b : to resolve by struggle

fought out their differences in court

5 a : to manage (a ship) in a battle or storm

b : to cause to struggle or contend

c : to manage in an unnecessarily rough or awkward manner

— fight shy of

: to avoid facing or meeting

See fight defined for English-language learners

See fight defined for kids

Examples of fight in a Sentence

When he was young he was always fighting.
He fought like a tiger.
The U.S. and Germany fought in World Wars I and II.
They vowed to fight the invaders of their homeland.
The U.S. fought Germany in World Wars I and II.
He and his wife are always fighting over money.
We were fighting to protect our jobs.

Recent Examples of fight from the Web

There’s no question that a raggedy band of people with guns could fight the government.

— leah sottile, Longreads, "Bundyville Chapter One: A War in the Desert," 15 May 2018
Ciccolo, of Adams, was arrested in 2015 after his father, a Boston police captain, alerted the FBI about his son’s alleged desire to fight for the Islamic State, authorities have said.

— travis andersen, BostonGlobe.com, "Western Mass. man to plead guilty to charges in terror plot to attack university," 15 May 2018
McCain, a six-term Republican senator from Arizona, former prisoner of war and 2008 Republican presidential nominee, has a deadly form of brain cancer and is fighting for his life.

— yvonne wingett sanchez, azcentral, "Trump condemns White House 'leakers' as traitors, cowards after furor over McCain 'joke'," 14 May 2018
Al-Sadr commands the devotion of millions of Iraqis who have sent their sons and husbands to fight for his militia from the early days of the U.S. occupation.

— philip issa, USA TODAY, "Early results in Iraq election favor populist cleric al-Sadr," 14 May 2018
The defensive pressure extended out to the perimeter, with the Celtics using their unique combination of length and athleticism to disrupt entry passes while showing the strength to fight for position in the post.

— chris fedor, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers get another taste of Indiana Pacers' blueprint, as Boston Celtics copy it en route to Game 1 blowout," 14 May 2018
The freedom Dolores and her ilk were fighting for was simple consciousness—a right to their own memories and self-awareness.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Westworld and the Question of Immortality," 13 May 2018
To see the way Andrew has taken such strength and power in his daughter’s name to fight for is just beautiful.

— wells dusenbury, Sun-Sentinel.com, "'Sopranos' star Jamie-Lynn Sigler hosts fundraiser in honor of Parkland shooting victim Meadow Pollack," 12 May 2018
The statement said one of the suspects had a weapon and was holding someone against their will, and asserted that the parties in the video fought with deputies.

— jeff mcdonald, latimes.com, "Video of an arrest in Vista sparks anger at sheriff's department," 10 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of fight

Middle English, from Old English feohtan; akin to Old High German fehtan to fight and perhaps to Latin pectere to comb — more at pectinate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

fight Synonyms

fight

noun

1 a : a hostile encounter : battle, combat

b : a boxing match

c : a verbal disagreement : argument

2 : a struggle for a goal or an objective

a fight for justice

3 : strength or disposition for fighting : pugnacity

still full of fight

See fight defined for English-language learners

Examples of fight in a Sentence

A fight broke out in the bar.
When he was young he was always getting into fights.
He got into another fight with his wife about money.
a fight for the heavyweight title

Recent Examples of fight from the Web

Sports gambling could begin in a matter of weeks in casinos and racetracks in New Jersey, which instigated the legal fight by repealing its gambling ban.

— phil serafino, Bloomberg.com, "Paddy Power in Talks to Combine U.S. Unit With FanDuel," 16 May 2018
And in January 2016, Ryan and Ammon tried to start another fight over federal overreach.

— leah sottile, Longreads, "Bundyville Chapter One: A War in the Desert," 15 May 2018
But during the dog fights above the island, Jackson and one of his wing men spotted an enemy plane coming out of the clouds, chased it at once and collided in mid-air.

— peter porco, Anchorage Daily News, "When Japan invaded Alaska: What you need to know about the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Attu," 15 May 2018
Among the organizations supporting Brown's fight is the Human Right's Campaign, which sent out a tweet this week suggesting that Avila-Rodriguez should not have been arrested.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "Fort Bragg chaplain fighting government over deportation of his husband of 17 months | Charlotte Observer," 15 May 2018
There's no Death Star to blow up, no fight to save the whole of humanity — just a gang of misfits trying to make a buck and not die in the process.

— refinery29.com, "Solo: A Star Wars Story," 15 May 2018
That fight started last weekend at Saints rookie minicamp.

— tim bielik, cleveland.com, "How J.T. Barrett performed at Saints rookie minicamp: Buckeye Breakfast," 14 May 2018
Our tribal leaders are, of course, a jealous lot that fight over their fiefdoms of women, African-Americans, Hispanics, immigrants, etc.

— WSJ, "Tribalism Threatens the Great Melting Pot," 13 May 2018
Despite running long, the session lacked the drama of the past several years, which were marked by drawn-out special sessions and bitter fights over the budget and taxes.

— becky bohrer, The Seattle Times, "Alaska Legislature passes budgets, ends extended session," 13 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of fight

see ¹fight

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

fight Synonyms

Synonyms

aggression, aggressiveness, assaultiveness, bellicosity, belligerence, belligerency, combativeness, contentiousness, defiance, disputatiousness, feistiness, militance, militancy, militantness, pugnacity, quarrelsomeness, scrappiness, truculence;

Antonyms

nonaggression, pacifism;

Near Antonyms

antiaggression, anti-imperialism, antimilitarism;

affability, amiability, amicability, benevolence, cordiality, friendliness, geniality, graciousness, pleasantness, sociability;

gentleness, kindliness, mildness;

amenability, complaisance, placability;

imperialism, jingoism, militarism;

acidity, biliousness, captiousness, crankiness, crossness, disagreeableness, fractiousness, fretfulness, grouchiness, grumpiness, huffiness, irascibility, irascibleness, irritability, irritableness, orneriness, peevishness, pettishness, petulance, querulousness, rudeness, surliness, testiness, waspishness;

Phrases

chip on one's shoulder;

Other Combat Sports Terms

foil, riposte, welter

FIGHT Defined for English Language Learners

fight

verb

: to use weapons or physical force to try to hurt someone, to defeat an enemy, etc. : to struggle in battle or physical combat
: to be involved in (a battle, struggle, etc.)
: to argue in an angry way

fight

noun

: a violent physical struggle between opponents
: an argument or quarrel
: a boxing match

FIGHT Defined for Kids

fight

verb \ ˈfīt \

fought \ˈfȯt\; fighting

1 : to struggle in battle or in physical combat

2 : to argue angrily : quarrel

3 : to try hard

She fought to stay awake.

4 : to struggle against

fight discrimination

—

fighter

noun

fight

noun

1 : a meeting in battle or in physical combat

2 : ¹quarrel 1

3 : strength or desire for fighting

After being wrongly blamed, I was full of fight.

Learn More about fight

See words that rhyme with fight Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for fight Spanish Central: Translation of fight Nglish: Translation of fight for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of fight for Arabic speakers

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Examples of fight in a Sentence

Recent Examples of fight from the Web

Origin and Etymology of fight

fight Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

fight

Examples of fight in a Sentence

Recent Examples of fight from the Web

Origin and Etymology of fight

fight Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases

Other Combat Sports Terms

FIGHT Defined for English Language Learners

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FIGHT Defined for Kids

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