(~s, battling, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a violent fight between groups of people, especially one between military forces during a war.
...the victory of King William III at the Battle of the Boyne.
...after a gun ~ between police and drug traffickers.
...men who die in ~.
N-VAR
2.
A ~ is a conflict in which different people or groups compete in order to achieve success or control.
...a renewed political ~ over Britain’s attitude to Europe.
...the eternal ~ between good and evil in the world.
...a macho ~ for supremacy...
= struggle
N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N prep
3.
You can use ~ to refer to someone’s efforts to achieve something in spite of very difficult circumstances.
...the ~ against crime...
She has fought a constant ~ with her weight...
Greg lost his brave ~ against cancer two years ago.
= fight
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N against n
4.
To ~ with an opposing group means to take part in a fight or contest against them. In American English, you can also say that one group or person is battling another.
Thousands of people ~d with police and several were reportedly wounded...
The sides must ~ again for a quarter-final place on December 16...
They’re also battling the government to win compensation.
V-RECIP: V with/against n, pl-n V, V n, also pl-n V to-inf
5.
To ~ means to try hard to do something in spite of very difficult circumstances. In British English, you ~ against something or with something. In American English, you ~ something.
Doctors ~d throughout the night to save her life.
...a lone yachtsman returning from his months of battling with the elements...
In Wyoming, firefighters are still battling the two blazes.
= fight
VERB: V to-inf, V with/against/through n, V n
~r (~rs)
If anyone can do it, he can. He’s a ~r and has a strong character.
N-COUNT
6.
see also pitched ~ , running ~
7.
If one person or group does ~ with another, they take part in a ~ or contest against them. You can also say that two people or groups do ~.
...the notorious Montonero guerrilla group who did ~ with the army during the dirty war...
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with/against n, pl-n PHR
8.
If you say that something is half the ~, you mean that it is the most important step towards achieving something.
Choosing the right type of paint for the job is half the ~.
PHRASE: usu v-link PHR
9.
If you are fighting a losing ~, you are trying to achieve something but are not going to be successful.
The crew fought a losing ~ to try to restart the engines.
...on a day when the sun is fighting a losing ~ against the lowering clouds.
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with/against n, PHR to-inf
10.
If one group or person ~s it out with another, they take part in a fight or contest against each other until one of them wins or a definite result is reached. You can also say that two groups or two people ~ it out.
In the Cup Final, Leeds ~d it out with the old enemy, Manchester United...
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR
11.
If you say that someone has lost the ~, but won the war, you mean that although they have been defeated in a small conflict they have won a larger, more important one of which it was a part. If you say that someone has won the ~ but lost the war, you mean that they have won the small conflict but lost the larger one.
The strikers may have won the ~, but they lost the war.
PHRASE: Vs and ~ inflect