firefight

noun

fire·​fight ˈfī(-ə)r-ˌfīt 

1

a

: a usually brief intense exchange of fire between opposing military units

b

: a hostile confrontation that involves gunfire

2

: skirmish sense 2b

Examples of firefight in a Sentence

a firefight between police and bank robbers

Recent Examples on the Web

What’s known as Building H at the facility, which has one wall facing South First Street near the Walker’s Point neighborhood, was completely engulfed in flames at one point amid the firefight. —Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 22 Jan. 2026

The symptoms described by the guard could also be consistent with exposure to blast overpressure from explosions, flashbang grenades, or a combination of shock, stress, and injury during a chaotic firefight. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Jan. 2026

Chopper 3 flew over the firefight at the Brighton Towers condo building on the 2800 block of Atlantic Avenue. —Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026

With the first anniversary of the fire a week away, questions about missteps in the firefight remained largely unanswered by the LAFD and Mayor Karen Bass. —Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for firefight

• acolyte
• aconite
• allanite
• alunite
• amberlite
• ammonite
• amorite
• amphitrite
• analyte
• anchorite
• andesite
• anhydrite