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

Example Sentences

a firefight between police and bank robbers

Recent Examples on the Web

With the launch of AP African American studies, though, the College Board has stepped into a political firefight of rare magnitude. —Nick Anderson, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2023

The intense firefight over Ukraine has the Pentagon rethinking its weapons stockpiles. —Tara Copp, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2022

The intense firefight over Ukraine has the Pentagon rethinking its weapons stockpiles. —Time, 24 Nov. 2022

The fact that the real Santa ( Edmund Gwenn) is in the middle of this cash-crazy firefight puts everything in the right perspective. —Los Angeles Times, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Dec. 2022

The fact that the real Santa (Edmund Gwenn) is in the middle of this cash-crazy firefight puts everything in the right perspective. —Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2022

At the height of the firefight, nearly 400 firefighters, aided by 14 aircraft, worked to gain control of the flames, according to Cal Fire officials. —Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2022

In the streets of the neighborhood, a firefight was picking up, and the clatter of machine guns echoed about. —Andrew E. Kramer Nicole Tung, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2023

An army operation in Pakistan’s northwest targeting militants triggered a firefight that left a soldier and four fighters dead, the army’s media wing said Sunday. —BostonGlobe.com, 1 Jan. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1a