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
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
Who is understanding that climate change is real and has put more money into fighting climate change than any president in history.
—Michael Levitt, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
Rozzi and Baldwin fought their removal and were later reinstated by the Indiana Supreme Court.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Apr. 2024
By 2030, the Fund will distribute $10 billion to fight climate change and biodiversity loss.
—Freya Drohan, Vogue, 26 Apr. 2024
Since leaving office in 2011, Schwarzenegger has restarted his Hollywood career while focusing his political efforts on fighting climate change and gerrymandering.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
Maybe people are fighting cancer or something like that.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 26 Apr. 2024
Administration officials are increasingly worried that their plans to fight climate change could falter unless the nation can quickly add vast amounts of grid capacity to handle more wind and solar power and to better tolerate extreme weather.
—Brad Plumer, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
The Minnesota Newspaper Association is fighting this proposal in the Minnesota Legislature.
—Forum Communications Company, Twin Cities, 25 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 28 Apr. 2024
The decades-long fight over water rights between Native Hawaiians and corporations continues on the island as well, and is now more heated than ever before, Kiakona said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2024
The fight began after an individual, believed to be a school safety worker, was approached by worried students.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
The fight over TikTok has increased tensions between the U.S. and China, with both vowing to protect their economic and national security interests.
—Didi Tang, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
Bullard, who was appointed to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council in 2021, spoke of the long fight he’s waged for environmental justice in his acceptance speech.
—Simmone Shah, TIME, 25 Apr. 2024
In 2009, Taylor earned an Oscar nomination for best documentary short film for The Final Inch, which chronicled the fight to eradicate polio.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Central banks in the United States, Europe and key emerging markets are making progress corralling inflation, though the fund warned that the fight against rising prices is not yet won.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Bass told an audience gathered at City Hall on Monday evening that her administration has already made crucial strides in the fight against homelessness, in part by working more closely with county, state and federal agencies.
—Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
There is no military draft today, and no U.S. troops are fighting in Gaza.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
Who is understanding that climate change is real and has put more money into fighting climate change than any president in history.
—Michael Levitt, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
Rozzi and Baldwin fought their removal and were later reinstated by the Indiana Supreme Court.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Apr. 2024
By 2030, the Fund will distribute $10 billion to fight climate change and biodiversity loss.
—Freya Drohan, Vogue, 26 Apr. 2024
Since leaving office in 2011, Schwarzenegger has restarted his Hollywood career while focusing his political efforts on fighting climate change and gerrymandering.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
Maybe people are fighting cancer or something like that.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 26 Apr. 2024
Administration officials are increasingly worried that their plans to fight climate change could falter unless the nation can quickly add vast amounts of grid capacity to handle more wind and solar power and to better tolerate extreme weather.
—Brad Plumer, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
The Minnesota Newspaper Association is fighting this proposal in the Minnesota Legislature.
—Forum Communications Company, Twin Cities, 25 Apr. 2024
Noun
Biden emphasizes support for Ukraine and NATO Biden also emphasized his support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO and Ukraine in its fight against Russia during the interview.
—USA TODAY, 28 Apr. 2024
The decades-long fight over water rights between Native Hawaiians and corporations continues on the island as well, and is now more heated than ever before, Kiakona said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2024
The fight began after an individual, believed to be a school safety worker, was approached by worried students.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
The fight over TikTok has increased tensions between the U.S. and China, with both vowing to protect their economic and national security interests.
—Didi Tang, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
Bullard, who was appointed to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council in 2021, spoke of the long fight he’s waged for environmental justice in his acceptance speech.
—Simmone Shah, TIME, 25 Apr. 2024
In 2009, Taylor earned an Oscar nomination for best documentary short film for The Final Inch, which chronicled the fight to eradicate polio.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Central banks in the United States, Europe and key emerging markets are making progress corralling inflation, though the fund warned that the fight against rising prices is not yet won.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Bass told an audience gathered at City Hall on Monday evening that her administration has already made crucial strides in the fight against homelessness, in part by working more closely with county, state and federal agencies.
—Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near fight
Cite this Entry
“Fight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fight. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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