I. kəmˈbat, ˈkämˌbat sometimes ˈkəmˌbat or kämˈbat or ˈkəmbət; Brit usually & US sometimes ˈkämbət; usu -d.+V verb
( combated or combatted ; combated or combatted ; combating or combatting ; combats )
Etymology: Middle French combattre, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin combattere, from Latin com- + -battere (from battuere to beat) — more at bat
intransitive verb
: struggle , contend , fight
combat fiercely with an enemy
nations combat to make one submit — Lord Byron
fiercely combated with death — Amy Lowell
transitive verb
1. : to fight with : battle
2. : to struggle against or oppose especially by argument
there was nobody to combat that royal will — Edith Sitwell
: work against : strive to reduce or eliminate
combat malnutrition and disease
combat inflation
Synonyms: see contest I
II. ˈkämˌbat sometimes ˈkəm-; Brit usually & US sometimes -_bət; usu -d.+V noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French, from combattre, v.
1. : a fight, encounter, or contest between individuals or groups
furious combat of antlered stags
: duel ; specifically : an engagement between contending armed forces especially when of lesser extent than a battle
2. : conflict , struggle , controversy
two years of almost continuous parliamentary combat — F.L.Paxson
such strenuous combats as the humanist-naturalist or the aesthetic-sociological controversies — F.B.Millett
3. : actual fighting engagement of military forces as distinguished from other military duties or periods of active service without fighting : action
Synonyms: see contest II