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

In the first season of action thriller A Shop For Killers, Kim Hye-jun starred as Jeong Ji-an, a college student who must fight off a bevy of highly skilled assassins while trying to get to the bottom of her uncle’s death. —Kayti Burt, Time, 14 Jan. 2026

Honey contains anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants that might help fight off viruses. —Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 13 Jan. 2026

The former gymnastics star has come out of her family's battle against RSV with a new obsession for fighting off illnesses in her children. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026

Levito is renowned for her consistency and trademark elegance, and will likely look to fight off veteran Bradie Tennell. —Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for fight off

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