skirmish

noun skir·mish \ ˈskər-mish \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: skirmish in a Sentence

Definition of skirmish

1 : a minor fight in war usually incidental to larger movements

2 a : a brisk preliminary verbal conflict

b : a minor dispute or contest between opposing parties

the debate touched off a skirmish

See skirmish defined for English-language learners

See skirmish defined for kids

Examples of skirmish in a Sentence

Skirmishes broke out between rebel groups.
Violent skirmishes with the enemy continue despite talks of peace.

Recent Examples of skirmish from the Web

Amid these debacles and many other skirmishes on the world stage, the date of Trump’s visit to the U.K. kept being pushed back.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Everything You Need to Know About Trump’s Controversial U.K. Visit," 12 July 2018
Till’s slaying has also provoked 21st century cultural skirmishes.

— jenny jarvie, latimes.com, "Justice Department reopens Emmett Till case. His killing in 1955 put a spotlight on racial violence," 12 July 2018
By comparing them to historical documents and modern aerial photography, Stichelbaut and his colleagues could identify areas of interest—a skirmish here, a sortie there.

— nick stockton, WIRED, "Laser-Shooting Planes Uncover the Horror and Humanity of World War I," 9 July 2018
Many experts are predicting recession by 2020 as inflation as interest rates ratchet higher and risks heighten for trade skirmishes, oil price spikes, stock market or other asset bubbles, and overseas political turmoil.

— paul davidson, USA TODAY, "Fed decision: Federal Reserve hikes rates to range of 1.75% to 2%, ups forecast to 4 hikes in '18," 13 June 2018
One reason why small caps withstood the turmoil: Investors have bet that continuing skirmishes over trade policy between the U.S. and China, among other nations, are less likely to dent profits among domestic firms.

— michael wursthorn, WSJ, "Small Caps Set New Highs, Outpacing Their Multinational Peers," 16 May 2018
The National Guard swept across the city quickly, enforcing a dusk to dawn curfew in an attempt to quell skirmishes that spread throughout the city and across the nation.

— carmen k. sisson, The Christian Science Monitor, "For teens, 50 mile march to honor King became a deeper journey," 4 Apr. 2018
The overlapping lawsuits have led to some turf skirmishes.

— andrew joseph, STAT, "Why Houston and other cities want nothing to do with the massive national opioid lawsuit," 27 Mar. 2018
The nascent trade skirmish could force changes in those ties but won't end them.

— molly jackson, The Christian Science Monitor, "In a US-China trade war, big losers include ... BMW? Taiwan?," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'skirmish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of skirmish

Middle English skyrmissh, alteration (influenced by Anglo-French eskermir to fence (with swords), protect, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German scirmen to protect, scirm shield) of skarmuch, from Anglo-French escarmuche, from Old Italian scaramuccia — more at screen

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

skirmish Synonyms

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

skirmish

verb

Definition of skirmish

skirmished; skirmishing; skirmishes

intransitive verb

1 : to engage in a skirmish

2 : to search about (as for supplies) : scout around

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skirmisher

noun

See skirmish defined for English-language learners

Examples of skirmish in a Sentence

Rebel groups are skirmishing with military forces.
The presidential candidates skirmished over their economic plans.

Recent Examples of skirmish from the Web

Although outright fighting stopped, the two countries have skirmished a number of times in recent years and the peace agreement has not been implemented.

— elias meseret, The Seattle Times, "Ethiopia welcomes 1st delegation from rival Eritrea in years," 26 June 2018
Ethiopia and Eritrea have not had diplomatic ties since the war began in 1998, with Abiy himself fighting in a town that remains contested today, and the countries have skirmished since then.

— elias meseret, The Christian Science Monitor, "Ethiopia and Eritrea unite after ending 20-year border war," 9 July 2018
Ethiopia had refused to accept the deal's handing of key locations to Eritrea and the countries have skirmished over the years.

— elias meseret, Fox News, "Ethiopia, Eritrea leaders to meet 'soon' in surprising thaw," 28 June 2018
Ethiopia had refused to accept the deal’s handing of key locations to Eritrea and the countries have skirmished over the years.

— Washington Post, "Ethiopia, Eritrea leaders to meet ‘soon’ in surprising thaw," 28 June 2018
Ethiopia and Eritrea have not had diplomatic ties since the fighting began in 1998, with Abiy himself fighting in the war, and the countries have skirmished since then in one of Africa's longest-running conflicts.

— elias meseret, Fox News, "With hugs, leaders of rivals Ethiopia, Eritrea finally meet," 8 July 2018
Screens above the walkway showed footage of neo-Nazis and other white supremacists skirmishing with protesters in Charlottesville, Va., last summer.

— matthew hay brown, baltimoresun.com, "In Washington, U2 traces its history on 'Experience + Innocence' tour," 18 June 2018
In a 2009 San Diego Union-Tribune article, Richard Crawford said Smith’s actions came as American sailors and Marines were skirmishing with Mexican locals, called Californios, over possession of the state.

— pauline repard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Richard Smith joins 172-year family history of Old Town flag-waving," 23 June 2018
Washington and Beijing have skirmished over trade this year, increasing tariffs on some products and threatening to do so on tens of billions of dollars in other goods.

— WSJ, "China’s Trade Surplus Narrows—but Not With the U.S.," 8 June 2018