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
Examples of firefight in a Sentence
a firefight between police and bank robbers
Recent Examples on the Web
With the border nearly secured on Tuesday — even as rocket attacks from Gaza continued and some firefights broke out — the scale of the horror unleashed on towns and villages near Gaza was rapidly coming into focus.
—
Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2023
Sunday’s firefight appeared to be the first direct engagement between the U.S. and Houthi forces since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants crossed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 31 Dec. 2023
Having to document firefights and military pushback in her own backyard, however, has left her not just weary but haunted.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024
Monday’s firefight broke out around 1 p.m. after gunmen opened fire from several directions and attempted to breach the facility by creating a hole in a wall.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024
The firefight at the airport came as an eerie calm covered the capital as the country braced for the return of Henry from Kenya.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024
What followed was a firefight lasting more than five minutes.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2023
But neither of the attacks went according to plan – thanks in part to a handful of volunteer guards who defended their neighbors in dramatic firefights.
—Casey Tolan, CNN, 18 Oct. 2023
Footage of the firefight, in which dozens of shots were exchanged, was caught on Deputy Joshua Gordon’s dashboard camera.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2024
Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2023
Sunday’s firefight appeared to be the first direct engagement between the U.S. and Houthi forces since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants crossed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 31 Dec. 2023
Having to document firefights and military pushback in her own backyard, however, has left her not just weary but haunted.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024
Monday’s firefight broke out around 1 p.m. after gunmen opened fire from several directions and attempted to breach the facility by creating a hole in a wall.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024
The firefight at the airport came as an eerie calm covered the capital as the country braced for the return of Henry from Kenya.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024
What followed was a firefight lasting more than five minutes.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2023
But neither of the attacks went according to plan – thanks in part to a handful of volunteer guards who defended their neighbors in dramatic firefights.
—Casey Tolan, CNN, 18 Oct. 2023
Footage of the firefight, in which dozens of shots were exchanged, was caught on Deputy Joshua Gordon’s dashboard camera.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'firefight.' 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 firefight
Cite this Entry
“Firefight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/firefight. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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