skirmish

noun skir·mish \ ˈskər-mish \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

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

With backup Francisco Peña scheduled to start for the Cardinals, Yadier Molina decided to accept the one-game suspension levied for his skirmish with Arizona manager Torey Lovullo on Sunday.

— tom haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers 3, Cardinals 2: This one doesn't get away as Albers shuts down rally in 9th," 11 Apr. 2018
Dubelier has beaten the Justice Department in past skirmishes.

— Bloomberg.com, "Company Tied to ‘Putin’s Chef’ Hires U.S. Lawyers to Fight Mueller Case," 11 Apr. 2018
Dubelier has beaten the Justice Department in past skirmishes.

— Fortune, "Russian Company Tied to 'Putin's Chef' Will Fight U.S. Election Interference Charges," 11 Apr. 2018
Since Simon has been at the helm, the ACLU backed Michael Schiavo in a skirmish over then-Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature’s efforts to keep Schiavo’s wife, Terri, on life support.

— dara kam, OrlandoSentinel.com, "ACLU of Florida leader retiring after decades of battles," 10 Apr. 2018
Violent skirmishes are expected even before May 15.

— fares akram, chicagotribune.com, "Palestinians prepare mass demonstrations along Gaza border," 28 Mar. 2018
Violent skirmishes are expected even before May 15.

— Fox News, "Palestinians prepare mass demonstrations along Gaza border," 28 Mar. 2018
The ejections came just after Warren Central’s David Bell and Pike’s Hunter White received double technicals because of an on-court skirmish.

— tom moor, Indianapolis Star, "IHSAA boys basketball: Warren Central fends off Pike to stay unbeaten," 20 Feb. 2018
As of January 5, 21 people had been killed in skirmishes with security forces, most of them demonstrators.

— bill powell, Newsweek, "Despite Trump Tweet Storm, Mattis and McMaster Calling Shots in Iran Crisis," 9 Jan. 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

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

skirmish Synonyms

Other Military Terms

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

skirmish

verb

Definition of skirmish

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

Just beyond the council chamber’s doors, angry protesters took over City Hall’s main lobby and in one instance skirmished with police officers.

— jose a. del real, New York Times, "20 Shots in Sacramento: Stephon Clark Killing Reignites a Furor," 28 Mar. 2018
Sunday's Derby della Mole clash between Juventus and Torino was marred by serious crowd trouble with footage surfacing of one man being pushed from a 10ft high barricade after skirmishing with a rival fan.

— SI.com, "VIDEO: Juventus Derby Clash With Torino Marred by Violence as Fan Thrown From 10ft Wall," 20 Feb. 2018
Democrats and Republicans skirmished over authorizing the funding this fall in the House, where Republicans wanted to extend funding in exchange for funding cuts to Obamacare.

— sam petulla, CNN, "These states are running out of CHIP funding," 14 Dec. 2017
North Florida governments and environmental groups have previously skirmished with Central Florida over the river.

— kevin spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Central Florida's future of water focuses on remote reservoir with contentious past," 27 Oct. 2017
While demonstrations were largely peaceful across the country, a small group of protesters skirmished with police at the end of a march to the Place de la Nation in eastern Paris.

— Washington Post, "French public sector strike disrupt schools, hospitals," 10 Oct. 2017
Republicans skirmished this week over whether to eliminate the state and local tax deduction -- which would amount to a trillion-dollar tax increase mostly affecting blue states including New York, California and Massachusetts.

— erik wasson, Bloomberg.com, "Why Tax Cuts Will Only Get Harder From Here," 6 Oct. 2017
In 1782, the war’s waning days, Kosciuszko finally served as a field commander, spying, stealing cattle and skirmishing during the siege of Charleston.

— erick trickey, Smithsonian, "The Polish Patriot Who Helped Americans Beat the British," 8 Mar. 2017
After skirmishing with convalescing soldiers and local militiamen around the Miamiville train bridge, Morgan withdrew.

— Cincinnati.com, "Column: Morgan invaded Clermont County in 1863," 26 July 2017