battling 1 of 2

present participle of battle
1
as in competing
to engage in a contest the two teams, which have long been archrivals, will battle on the court for the state championship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in facing
to enter into contest or conflict with the two top-seeded tennis players battled each other for almost three hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
4

battling

2 of 2

adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of battling
Adjective
Get a few friends together and form your own version of girl group HUNTR/X and spend your Halloween battling supernatural forces while maintaining your pop stardom. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025 San Rafael, California — Whether battling a wildfire, chasing a suspect, or helping someone with a traumatic injury – the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and others who take action in emergencies regularly endure high levels of stress. Kathleen Toner, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025 He's been one of the team's top receivers with Aiyuk, Jennings, and Pearsall all battling injury. Cole Sullivan, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025 In an interview with Flow Space, pro runner D’Amato shares five lessons about finding joy in midlife by taking on new challenges—and battling the fear, doubt, and failure that come with the desire to reach new heights. Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 3 Oct. 2025 Zumba Tropichica master class 305 Pink Pack, a South Florida organization supporting woman battling breast cancer with resources such as free childcare and transportation, is hosting various events this month. Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025 After battling both quietly for two years, the singer-songwriter let fans in on their secret with The Great Impersonator, their fifth studio album, released this past October. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2025 An Oregon firefighter is back home after spending nearly a month in immigration detention following his arrest while battling an active blaze, his legal team confirmed on Thursday. Doc Louallen, ABC News, 25 Sep. 2025 The work signals a new approach for personalized medicine in hospitals battling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for battling
Verb
  • The senator did not respond to a request for comment about the competing legislation put forth by his fellow Democrats.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 7 Oct. 2025
  • If the animals are not competing in shows, they are sold for meat.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Single service handles not stored facing one direction to minimize hand contact with the business end or with the handle facing upright.
    Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Partner at NewVest Ariel Ezrahi In such an environment, expanding retail-facing funds becomes an appealing lever, providing access to fresh money even as the traditional institutional pipeline weakens, private-equity players told CNBC.
    Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Meet Nashville's new crime-fighting Clydesdale Metro Nashville mounted patrol officer Michael Douglas squeezed a three-foot-long rubber chicken, producing an increasingly louder and closer screeching sound to try and provoke a 1,700-pound Clydesdale named Ross.
    Laura L. Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The event, launched in 1982, celebrates the freedom to read and express ideas and emphasizes the importance of fighting censorship.
    Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • More and more coaches are willing to chip pucks behind the defense and let their players chase it, using speed and tenacity to apply pressure and win possession back deep in opposing territory.
    Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • But lawyers opposing the government in at least two of the cases opposed the requests.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Yet Harris discovered that being a good soldier doesn’t necessarily help when the vice president is contending for the highest elective office in the land.
    Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
  • As the New York Knicks gear up for what could be a title-contending season in 2025-26, the head coach that led them to their most success this century was spotted several time zones away.
    Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • There he was flabbergasted to discover video footage of a woman wearing a dark Balenciaga sack dress on the streets of Paris in the ’50s, encountering curiosity and visible scorn.
    Miles Socha, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2025
  • When the eye looks symmetrical, that often means the storm is not encountering anything to weaken it.
    The New York Times, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Goldberg-Polin has become a global advocate for the remaining hostages, meeting with world leaders and speaking publicly about her loss.
    Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
  • After meeting in high school, the pair began dating in 1972 and split four years later.
    Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Radiation Works on Knee Pain a Few Ways Low-dose radiation therapy is thought to ease knee pain by combating inflammation, says Austin Kirschner, MD, PhD, an associate professor of radiation oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
    Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • This all comes amid multiple feuds between the ADL and several Christian conservatives, including podcasters Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, and concerns over the rise in antisemitism and whether free speech is being stifled in the name of combating it.
    Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Battling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/battling. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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