battle

1
[ bat-l ]
See synonyms for: battlebattledbattlesbattling on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo.

  2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle.

  1. a fight between two persons or animals: ordering a trial by battle to settle the dispute.

  2. any conflict or struggle: a battle for control of the Senate.

  3. Archaic. a battalion.

verb (used without object),bat·tled, bat·tling.
  1. to engage in battle: ready to battle with the enemy.

  2. to work very hard or struggle; strive: to battle for freedom.

verb (used with object),bat·tled, bat·tling.
  1. to fight (a person, army, cause, etc.): We battled strong winds and heavy rains in our small boat.

  2. to force or accomplish by fighting, struggling, etc.:He battled his way to the top of his profession.

Idioms about battle

  1. give / do battle, to enter into conflict; fight: He was ready to do battle for his beliefs.

Origin of battle

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English batail(le), batal, from Old French bataille, from Vulgar Latin battālia (unrecorded) for Late Latin battuālia (neuter plural) “gladiatorial exercises,” equivalent to battu(ere) “to strike” + -ālia, neuter plural of -ālis adjective suffix; see also -al2, bate2

synonym study For battle

1. Battle, action, skirmish mean a conflict between organized armed forces. A battle is a prolonged and general conflict pursued to a definite decision: the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. A skirmish is a slight engagement, often on the periphery of an area of battle: several minor skirmishes. An action can be a battle or a skirmish or can refer to actual fighting or combat: a major military action; action along the border; He saw action in the campaign.

Other words for battle

Other words from battle

  • battler, noun

Words Nearby battle

Other definitions for battle (2 of 2)

battle2
[ bat-l ]

verb (used with object),bat·tled, bat·tling.Archaic.
  1. to furnish (a building or wall) with battlements; crenelate.

Origin of battle

2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English batailen, from Middle French bataillier “to provide with batailles; see battlement

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use battle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for battle (1 of 3)

battle

/ (ˈbætəl) /


noun
  1. a fight between large armed forces; military or naval engagement; combat

  2. conflict; contention; struggle: his battle for recognition

  1. do battle, give battle or join battle to start fighting

verb
  1. (when intr , often foll by against, for, or with) to fight in or as if in military combat; contend (with): she battled against cancer

  2. to struggle in order to achieve something or arrive somewhere: he battled through the crowd

  1. (intr) Australian to scrape a living, esp by doing odd jobs

Origin of battle

1
C13: from Old French bataile, from Late Latin battālia exercises performed by soldiers, from battuere to beat

Derived forms of battle

  • battler, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Battle (2 of 3)

Battle1

/ (ˈbætəl) /


noun
  1. a town in SE England, in East Sussex: site of the Battle of Hastings (1066); medieval abbey. Pop: 5190 (2001)

British Dictionary definitions for Battle (3 of 3)

Battle2

/ (ˈbætəl) /


noun
  1. Kathleen . born 1948, US opera singer: a coloratura soprano, she made her professional debut in 1972 and sang with New York City's Metropolitan Opera (1977–94)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with battle

battle

see half the battle; losing battle; pitched battle.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.