fight off

phrasal verb

fought off; fighting off; fights off

: to defend oneself against (someone or something) by fighting or struggling : to avoid being harmed or overcome by (someone or something) by fighting or struggling

They fought off the attack/attackers.

I'm trying to fight off a cold.

Examples of fight off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There is nothing more striking than a powerful dribbler in full flow, chewing up ground, fighting off defenders and hurtling towards goal. —Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026

The Tofinu took refuge in the lagoons along the Bight of Benin, a core area of the slave trade, venturing forth in canoes with harpoons, javelins, and swords to fight off raiders from powerful nearby kingdoms. —Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026

Mosaku captivated audiences as Annie, a powerful healer and spiritual guide who helps fight off bloodthirsty vampires in Sinners. —Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026

Five years since the siege, Gonell and some of the other police officers who fought off the rioters are still coming to terms with what happened. —Mary Clare Jalonick, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for fight off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff