/ faɪt; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( fought , fought / fɔːt; NAmE /)
IN WAR / BATTLE
1.
fight (against sb) to take part in a war or battle against an enemy :
[ v ]
soldiers trained to fight
He fought in Vietnam.
My grandfather fought against the Fascists in Spain.
[ vn ]
to fight a war / battle
They gathered soldiers to fight the invading army.
STRUGGLE / HIT
2.
to struggle physically with sb :
[ v ]
My little brothers are always fighting.
She'll fight like a tiger to protect her children.
[also vn ]
IN CONTEST
3.
fight sb/sth (for sth) to take part in a contest against sb :
[ vn ]
to fight an election / a campaign
[ v ]
She's fighting for a place in the national team.
OPPOSE
4.
to try hard to stop, deal with or oppose sth bad :
[ vn ]
to fight racism / corruption / poverty, etc.
Workers are fighting the decision to close the factory.
The fire crews had problems fighting the blaze.
[ v ]
We will fight for as long as it takes.
TRY TO GET / DO STH
5.
fight (for sth) to try very hard to get sth or to achieve sth :
[ v ]
He's still fighting for compensation after the accident.
[ vn ]
She gradually fought her way to the top of the company.
[ v to inf ]
Doctors fought for more than six hours to save his life.
➡ note at campaign
ARGUE
6.
[ v ] fight (with sb) (about / over sth) to have an argument with sb about sth :
It's a trivial matter and not worth fighting about.
IN BOXING
7.
to take part in a boxing match :
[ v ]
Doctors fear he may never fight again.
[also vn ]
LAW
8.
[ vn ] fight sb (for sth) to try to get what you want in court :
He fought his wife for custody of the children.
I'm determined to fight the case.
► fight·ing noun [ U ]:
Fighting broke out in three districts of the city last night.
outbreaks of street fighting
•
IDIOMS
- fight your / sb'scorner
- fight fire with fire
- fight for (your) life
- a fighting chance
- fighting fit
- fighting spirit
- fighting talk
- fight a losing battle
- fight shy of sth / of doing sth
- fight to the death / finish
- fight tooth and nail
- fight your own battles
—more at live (I)
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- fight back (against sb/sth)
- fight sth back / down
- fight sb/sth off
- fight out sth | fight it out
■ noun
STRUGGLE
1.
[ C ] ~ (with sb/sth) | ~ (between A and B) a struggle against sb/sth using physical force :
He got into a fight with a man in the bar.
a street / gang fight
A fight broke out between rival groups of fans.
a world title fight (= fighting as a sport)
TRYING TO GET / DO STH
2.
[ sing. ] ~ (against / for sth) | ~ (to do sth) the work of trying to destroy, prevent or achieve sth :
the fight against crime
a fight for survival
COMPETITION
3.
[ sing. ] a competition or an act of competing, especially in a sport :
The team put up a good fight (= they played well) but were finally beaten.
She now has a fight on her hands (= will have to play very well) to make it through to the next round.
➡ note at campaign
ARGUMENT
4.
[ C ] ~ (with sb) | ~ (over / about sth) ( especially NAmE ) an argument about sth :
Did you have a fight with him?
We had a fight over money.
BATTLE / WAR
5.
[ C ] a battle, especially for a particular place or position :
In the fight for Lemburg, the Austrians were defeated.
DESIRE TO FIGHT
6.
[ U ] the desire or ability to keep fighting for sth :
In spite of many defeats, they still had plenty of fight left in them.
•
IDIOMS
- a fight to the finish
—more at pick verb , spoil verb
••
SYNONYMS
fight
clash ♦ brawl ♦ struggle ♦ scuffle ♦ tussle
These are all words for a situation in which people try to defeat each other using physical force.
fight
a situation in which two or more people try to defeat each other using physical force:
He got into a fight with a man in the bar.
clash
( journalism ) a short fight between two groups of people:
Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators.
brawl
a noisy and violent fight involving a group of people, usually in a public place:
a drunken brawl in a bar
struggle
a fight between two people or groups of people, especially when one of them is trying to escape, or to get sth from the other:
There were no signs of a struggle at the murder scene.
scuffle
a short and not very violent fight or struggle:
He was involved in a scuffle with a photographer.
tussle
a short struggle, fight or argument, especially in order to get sth:
He was injured during a tussle for the ball.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
in a fight / brawl / struggle / scuffle / tussle
a fight / clash / brawl / struggle / scuffle / tussle over sth
to be in / get into / be involved in a fight / clash / brawl / struggle / scuffle / tussle
to start a fight / brawl / scuffle
a fight / clash / brawl / struggle / scuffle / tussle breaks out
a fight / clash / brawl / struggle / scuffle takes place / starts
a violent fight / clash / brawl / struggle / scuffle / tussle
a street fight / brawl
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English feohtan (verb), feoht(e ), gefeoht (noun), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch vechten , gevecht and German fechten , Gefecht .