fought
ˈfȯt 
; fighting
; fighting
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.
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
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
Synonyms
Examples of fight in a Sentence
Verb
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.
Noun
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
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Recent Examples on the Web
Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2023
Alongside its fight with Hamas, Israel is fighting another battle: to convince the world, and chiefly the United States, that this is a just war.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 18 Nov. 2023
The commanders escorting us called it the unavoidable cost of fighting an urban battle against an enemy — Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that controlled all of Gaza until the Israeli invasion — that had embedded itself within civilian buildings and infrastructure.
—Patrick Kingsley Daniel Berehulak, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023
At first, hardy Highlanders developed the tartan kilt in the 16th century, attire perfectly suited to the landscape, where Scots had to climb hills, traverse bogs, and fight the English with agility in all weather.
—Ross Kenneth Urken, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Nov. 2023
Investors in artificial intelligence are taking the idea one step further in fighting against lawsuits filed by artists and writers asserting that the AI development process involves copyright infringement on a massive scale.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Soon after the Hamas attack, Israel floated the idea of transferring hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Egypt while the Israeli military fought Hamas, but the Biden administration rejected the idea, a U.S. official, two European diplomats and a Middle Eastern diplomat told NBC News.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2023
The next clip cuts to Dan fighting an assailant in a grocery aisle with his giggling toddler strapped to his chest.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2023
In April 2018, the leading Israeli Hebrew-language news provided a rare window onto a scenario the IDF is planning for: fighting Iran’s proxy force, the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, far from Israel’s borders, in Lebanon.
—Dan Senor, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2023
Simon Abrams, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
Israel’s fight against Hamas, a war in Ukraine that is slipping toward a stalemate and a tenuous detente with China are all competing for the president’s time with less than a year until the 2024 election.
—Andrew Restuccia, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2023
Politics in Brief Government shutdown: President Joe Biden has signed the stopgap funding bill passed by the Senate, punting the GOP's spending fight and the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 17 Nov. 2023
Sean became a stunt performer and coordinator specializing in fight scenes.
—Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
Elena is made to feel like her life and dreams are not as important as her mother’s fight.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Nov. 2023
But in late March, Majors was arrested in New York on domestic violence charges for allegedly hitting his then-girlfriend and pushing her into the side of a car during a fight that broke out over his cell phone.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2023
Lewis’s friend had agreed to a fight in an alley after school following incidents earlier in the week when his wireless headphones and possibly vape pen were stolen, Johansson said.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023
The fight over the health department funding had become a stand-in for bigger fights over the direction of the county and the nation.
—Monica Potts, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2023
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Verb
Wexton acknowledges the increasing challenge of navigating the sprawling Capitol complex on foot, while fighting the pain and mobility limitations of her disease.
—Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2023
Alongside its fight with Hamas, Israel is fighting another battle: to convince the world, and chiefly the United States, that this is a just war.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 18 Nov. 2023
The commanders escorting us called it the unavoidable cost of fighting an urban battle against an enemy — Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that controlled all of Gaza until the Israeli invasion — that had embedded itself within civilian buildings and infrastructure.
—Patrick Kingsley Daniel Berehulak, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023
At first, hardy Highlanders developed the tartan kilt in the 16th century, attire perfectly suited to the landscape, where Scots had to climb hills, traverse bogs, and fight the English with agility in all weather.
—Ross Kenneth Urken, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Nov. 2023
Investors in artificial intelligence are taking the idea one step further in fighting against lawsuits filed by artists and writers asserting that the AI development process involves copyright infringement on a massive scale.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Soon after the Hamas attack, Israel floated the idea of transferring hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Egypt while the Israeli military fought Hamas, but the Biden administration rejected the idea, a U.S. official, two European diplomats and a Middle Eastern diplomat told NBC News.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2023
The next clip cuts to Dan fighting an assailant in a grocery aisle with his giggling toddler strapped to his chest.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2023
In April 2018, the leading Israeli Hebrew-language news provided a rare window onto a scenario the IDF is planning for: fighting Iran’s proxy force, the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, far from Israel’s borders, in Lebanon.
—Dan Senor, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2023
Noun
At their best, Woo’s successors carry forward his style of visually spectacular action set pieces and bloody, balletic fight choreography.
—Simon Abrams, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
Israel’s fight against Hamas, a war in Ukraine that is slipping toward a stalemate and a tenuous detente with China are all competing for the president’s time with less than a year until the 2024 election.
—Andrew Restuccia, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2023
Politics in Brief Government shutdown: President Joe Biden has signed the stopgap funding bill passed by the Senate, punting the GOP's spending fight and the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 17 Nov. 2023
Sean became a stunt performer and coordinator specializing in fight scenes.
—Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
Elena is made to feel like her life and dreams are not as important as her mother’s fight.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Nov. 2023
But in late March, Majors was arrested in New York on domestic violence charges for allegedly hitting his then-girlfriend and pushing her into the side of a car during a fight that broke out over his cell phone.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2023
Lewis’s friend had agreed to a fight in an alley after school following incidents earlier in the week when his wireless headphones and possibly vape pen were stolen, Johansson said.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023
The fight over the health department funding had become a stand-in for bigger fights over the direction of the county and the nation.
—Monica Potts, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English, from Old English feohtan; akin to Old High German fehtan to fight and perhaps to Latin pectere to comb — more at pectinate
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of fight was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing fight
Dictionary Entries Near fight
Cite this Entry
“Fight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fight. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
fight
1 of 2 verb
fought
ˈfȯt
; fighting
; fighting
1
a
: to struggle against another in battle or physical combat
2
: to try hard
fighting to stay awake
More from Merriam-Webster on fight
Nglish: Translation of fight for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of fight for Arabic Speakers
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