[fight] vb fought ; fight.ing [ME, fr. OE feohtan; akin to OHG fehtan to fight and perh. to L pectere to comb--more at pectinate] vi (bef. 12c) 1 a: to contend in battle or physical combat; esp: to strive to overcome a person by blows or weapons b: to engage in boxing
2: to put forth a determined effort ~ vt 1 a (1): to contend against in or as if in battle or physical combat (2): to box against in the ring b (1): to attempt to prevent the success or effectiveness of "the company fought the takeover attempt" (2): to oppose the passage or development of "~ a bill in Congress"
2. a: wage, carry on "~ a battle" b: to take part in (as a boxing match)
3: to struggle to endure or surmount "~ a cold"
4. a: to gain by struggle "~s his way through" b: to resolve by struggle "fought out their differences in court"
5. a: to manage (a ship) in a battle or storm b: to cause to struggle or contend c: to manage in an unnecessarily rough or awkward manner -- fight shy of : to avoid facing or meeting
[2]fight n (bef. 12c) 1 a: a hostile encounter: battle, combat b: a boxing match c: a verbal disagreement: argument
2: a struggle for a goal or an objective "a ~ for justice"
3: strength or disposition for fighting: pugnacity "still full of ~"