fight

verb

\ ˈfīt

fought\ ˈfȯt

\; fighting

Definition of fight

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1a : 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

1a(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

2a : 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

4a : to gain by struggle fights his way through

b : to resolve by struggle fought out their differences in court

5a : 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

fight

noun

Definition of fight (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : 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

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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

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The pair used to fight often, but eventually developed a simple solution for improving their communication. — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston's 41-Year Marriage Will Restore Your Faith in Love," 4 Jan. 2019 This includes, for example, Stuart Kyle Duncan, an attorney who fought the ACA’s contraceptive mandate in front of the Supreme Court and is now a judge on the Fifth Circuit. — Li Zhou, Vox, "Trump has gotten 66 judges confirmed this year. In his second year, Obama had gotten 49.," 27 Dec. 2018 The guards were fighting with each other over in the corner. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Axios’ Jonathan Swan explains what the press gets wrong about the Trump administration," 6 Dec. 2018 Now, as the county board considers tax increases, supporters of this successful policy blend will have to fight to preserve it. — Mene Ukueberuwa, WSJ, "How Arlington Lured Amazon With Low Costs," 14 Dec. 2018 Think Dawson's Creek, if occasionally Dawson had to fight off alien invaders hell-bent on ruining his life. — Seventeen, "The 20 Greatest TV Teen Dramas of All Time," 4 Dec. 2018 Increasingly, these companies identify as protein companies, allowing you to not really have to fight or reinvent or replace the existing protein industry. — Angela Chen, The Verge, "These are the technology advances that could end animal farming," 9 Nov. 2018 The trip takes so long because the spacecraft has to fight the gravitational pull of the sun. — Meghan Bartels, Space.com, "BepiColombo, the First Mercury Mission in 14 Years, Launches Tonight — Watch Live!," 19 Oct. 2018 In 1998, we were blessed with the gift of Practical Magic, the spooky rom-com in which Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play two sisters who are also witches and have to fight off the spirit of a crazy ex-boyfriend. — Alyssa Fiorentino, House Beautiful, "This Girl Recreated The 'Practical Magic' House On The Sims And It's Insane," 11 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

While Chang’s lawyers in South Africa focus on the fight against extradition, a Lebanese businessman and three former Credit Suisse employees have also been arrested. — Christopher Torchia, The Seattle Times, "Wanted by US, former Mozambican official appears in SA court," 8 Jan. 2019 After the stunning events of Avengers: Infinity War, our heroes continue the fight against Thanos. — Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, "The 2019 Sci-Fi Film Guide," 3 Jan. 2019 Come for the relatable holiday misadventures, stay for ugly jumpers and the fight between two handsome Englishmen. — Vogue, "13 Perfect Rom-Coms to Help With Your Holiday Hangover Right Now," 1 Jan. 2019 Against this backdrop, a scientist works to uncover why the gate-builders vanished, while the crew of the Rocinante take up the fight against Emperor Duarte’s rule. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "All the science fiction and fantasy books we’re looking forward to in 2019," 30 Dec. 2018 This issue has been particularly pronounced in California, where fights to access police records have been waged for decades, dating back to a massive purge of police documents in the 1970s. — P.r. Lockhart, Vox, "A California city plans to shred years of police records before a new law makes them public," 27 Dec. 2018 Most recently, ahead of Tuesday's Flipping Out season 11 finale in which the fight is supposed to air, Jeff opened up again, this time remorseful. — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "[Updated] Flipping Out's Jeff Lewis Regrets The Fight That Led To Him Losing Jenni Pulos As A Friend," 21 Nov. 2018 With rain expected on Wednesday in Northern California, the smog is expected to thin and hopefully help the fight against the Camp Fire, which is about 80 percent contained and may continue through the month. — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, "California Fires: What to Know If You're Visiting California This Week," 21 Nov. 2018 The startup recently laid off and furloughed hundreds of employees as a result of the ongoing fight with Evergrande. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "Faraday Future CEO’s long trail of debt is finally catching up to him," 8 Dec. 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.