fight (fīt)

v., fought (fôt), fight·ing, fights.

v.intr.

1. 1. To attempt to harm or gain power over an adversary by blows or with weapons.
   2. Sports. To engage in boxing or wrestling.
2. To engage in a quarrel; argue: They are always fighting about money.
3. To strive vigorously and resolutely: fought against graft; fighting for her rights.

v.tr.

1. 1. To contend with physically or in battle.
   2. To wage or carry on (a battle).
   3. To contend for, by or as if by combat: "I now resolved that Calais should be fought to the death" (Winston S. Churchill).
2. 1. Sports. To box or wrestle against in a ring.
   2. To participate in (a boxing match, for example).
3. To set (a boxer, for example) in combat with another. See synonyms at oppose.
4. To contend with or struggle against: fight cancer; fight temptation.
5. To try to prevent the development or success of.
6. To make (one's way) by struggle or striving: fought my way to the top.

n.

1. A confrontation between opposing groups in which each attempts to harm or gain power over the other, as with bodily force or weapons.
2. A quarrel or conflict.
3. 1. A physical conflict between two or more individuals.
   2. Sports. A boxing or wrestling match.
4. A struggle to achieve an objective. See synonyms at conflict.
5. The power or inclination to fight; pugnacity: I just didn't have any fight left in me.

phrasal verb:

fight off

1. To defend against or drive back (a hostile force, for example).

idioms:

fight fire with fire

1. To combat one evil or one set of negative circumstances by reacting in kind.

fight shy of

1. To avoid meeting or confronting.

[Middle English fighten, from Old English feohtan, fihtan.]

fightability fight'a·bil'i·ty n.
fightable fight'a·ble adj.
fightingly fight'ing·ly adv.

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---