I. com ‧ bat 1 /ˈkɒmbæt $ ˈkɑːm-/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [uncountable] fighting, especially during a war
in combat
Corporal Gierson was killed in combat.
We flew over 200 combat missions.
training in unarmed combat (=fighting without weapons)
mortal combat (=fighting until one person kills another)
hand-to-hand combat (=fighting in which you are close enough to touch your opponent)
combat aircraft/jacket/boots etc
2 . [countable] a fight or battle
3 . combats [plural] loose trousers, often with many pockets:
She always wore combats, which were more fashionable than jeans.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ hand-to-hand combat (=in which you are close enough to touch your opponent)
Thousands of men were killed in hand-to-hand combat in less than 24 hours.
▪ close combat (=in which you are very near your opponent)
Swords and spears were used for close combat.
▪ single combat (=in which you and one other person fight together)
The champion called out a challenge to single combat.
▪ unarmed combat (=without weapons)
They were trained in the techniques of unarmed combat.
▪ mortal combat (=until one opponent is killed)
an exciting computer game of mortal combat against giants and monsters
▪ air/aerial combat (=fighting in the air)
30 enemy aircraft were destroyed in aerial combat.
■ verbs
▪ be locked in combat (=to be using all your effort and attention to fight each other)
Their troops were locked in combat.
▪ engage in combat with somebody formal (=to fight someone)
The President said he was aware of the danger to forces engaged in combat in the field.
■ combat + NOUN
▪ combat troops/soldiers/forces/units
US combat troops were in the streets of the capital yesterday.
▪ combat aircraft
Very few combat aircraft have been destroyed.
▪ combat vehicles
Armoured combat vehicles appeared on the streets of the city.
▪ a combat zone (=an area where there is fighting)
refugees from the combat zone
▪ a combat mission/operation
He flew 280 combat missions in two wars.
▪ combat gear (=clothes worn in battles by the armed forces)
a group of soldiers in combat gear
▪ combat fatigues (=trousers worn in battles by the armed forces)
He was still dressed in combat fatigues and jungle boots.
▪ combat boots
The troops were issued with steel helmets and combat boots.
▪ combat readiness (=the state of being ready to fight)
Troops had been flown in and were in combat readiness.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ war noun [uncountable and countable] a situation in which there is fighting between countries or opposing groups within a country, with large numbers of soldiers and weapons:
He fought in World War II.
|
the horrors of war
▪ conflict noun [uncountable and countable] a situation in which there is fighting or a war – used especially in news reports:
the conflict in the Middle East
|
There is increasing danger of armed conflict.
▪ fighting noun [uncountable] a situation in which people or groups fight each other and try to kill each other:
The fighting went on for months.
|
Fighting in the north has resulted in hundreds of deaths.
▪ hostilities noun [plural] formal fighting in a war:
The agreement called on the guerrillas to cease hostilities (=stop fighting) and begin peace talks.
▪ warfare noun [uncountable] the activity of fighting in a war – used especially to talk about a method of fighting:
new and more advanced methods of warfare
|
chemical warfare
▪ battle noun [uncountable and countable] an occasion when two armies, groups of ships etc fight each other in one place during a war:
the great naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars
|
the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805
|
He died in battle.
▪ skirmish /ˈskɜːmɪʃ $ ˈskɜːr-/ noun [countable] a short fight between small groups of soldiers, ships etc, especially one that happens away from the main part of a war or battle:
There were minor skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops across the border.
▪ combat noun [uncountable] the act of fighting, especially during a war:
Few of them had any experience of combat.
|
hand-to-hand combat
▪ action noun [uncountable] military actions carried out by the army, navy etc of a country during a war – used especially in the following phrases:
He was killed in action in 1944.
|
Her son went missing in action.
|
Her grandfather saw action (=fought) in two world wars.
II. com ‧ bat 2 /ˈkɒmbæt, kəmˈbæt $ kəmˈbæt, ˈkɑːmbæt/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle combated , present participle combating or combatted , combatting ) [transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: combattre , from Vulgar Latin combattere , from Latin com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + battuere 'to hit' ]
to try to stop something bad from happening or getting worse – used especially in news reports
combat inflation/crime/racism etc
To combat inflation, the government raised interest rates.
new strategies for combatting terrorism