battle
Other forms: battles; battling; battled
A battle is an open struggle, usually between two groups — like a baseball championship game or a food fight.
The word battle is often used in opposition to war, a series of battles. Perhaps you have heard someone tell you, after winning the first of many dance competitions, "You may have won the battle, but you haven’t won the war!" A battle doesn’t have to occur between two individuals or groups. You may endure an inner battle to cut down on junk food. If you skip those fries for lunch today, then you have won a small battle.
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a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war“Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga”
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synonyms:
conflict, engagement, fight
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examples:
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Battle of Britain
the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it
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Drogheda
in 1649 the place was captured by Oliver Cromwell, who massacred the Catholic inhabitants
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types:
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Armageddon
any catastrophically destructive battle
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pitched battle
a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place
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naval battle
a pitched battle between naval fleets
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armed combat, combat
an engagement fought between two military forces
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dogfight
an aerial engagement between fighter planes
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assault
close fighting during the culmination of a military attack
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resisting arrest
physical efforts to oppose a lawful arrest; the resistance is classified as assault and battery upon the person of the police officer attempting to make the arrest
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belligerency, hostilities
fighting; acts of overt warfare
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trench warfare
a type of armed combat in which the opposing troops fight from trenches that face each other
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storm
a direct and violent assault on a stronghold
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aggression
the act of initiating hostilities
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type of:
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action, military action
a military engagement
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Battle of Britain
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an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)
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types:
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class struggle, class war, class warfare
conflict between social or economic classes (especially between the capitalist and proletariat classes)
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insurrection, rebellion, revolt, rising, uprising
organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another
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counterinsurgency, pacification
actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency
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strife
bitter conflict; heated often violent dissension
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tug-of-war
any hard struggle between equally matched groups
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turf war
a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights
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combat, fight, fighting, scrap
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
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feud
a bitter quarrel between two parties
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war, warfare
an active struggle between competing entities
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conflagration
a violent clash or conflict
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gunfight, gunplay, shootout
a fight involving shooting small arms with the intent to kill or frighten
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brush, clash, encounter, skirmish
a minor short-term fight
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close-quarter fighting
hand-to-hand fighting at close quarters
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insurgence, insurgency
an organized rebellion aimed at overthrowing a constituted government through the use of subversion and armed conflict
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intifada, intifadah
an uprising by Palestinian Arabs (in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank) against Israel in the late 1980s and again in 2000
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mutiny
open rebellion against constituted authority (especially by seamen or soldiers against their officers)
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dogfight
a violent fight between dogs (sometimes organized illegally for entertainment and gambling)
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countercurrent, crosscurrent
actions counter to the main group activity
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discord, discordance
strife resulting from a lack of agreement
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fencing
the art or sport of fighting with swords (especially the use of foils or epees or sabres to score points under a set of rules)
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faction, in-fighting
conflict between members of the same organization (usually concealed from outsiders)
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set-to
a brief but vigorous fight
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impact, shock
the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat
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dogfight, hassle, rough-and-tumble, scuffle, tussle
disorderly fighting
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affaire d'honneur, duel
a prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor
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fistfight, fisticuffs, slugfest
a fight with bare fists
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banging, battering
the act of subjecting to strong attack
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beating, whipping
the act of overcoming or outdoing
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affray, disturbance, fray, ruffle
a noisy fight
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brawl, free-for-all
a noisy fight in a crowd
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cut-and-thrust, knife fight, snickersnee
fighting with knives
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gang fight, rumble
a fight between rival gangs of adolescents
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single combat
a fight between two people
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drug war
conflict between law enforcement and those who deal in illegal drugs
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trench warfare
a struggle (usually prolonged) between competing entities in which neither side is able to win
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blood feud, vendetta
a feud in which members of the opposing parties murder each other
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type of:
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group action
action taken by a group of people
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an energetic attempt to achieve something
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battle or contend against in or as if in a battle
/ˈbædl/
/ˈbætəl/
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- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing battle
Words shouldn’t be your kryptonite. Arm yourself with an indestructible vocabulary, starting with these terms from the superhero genre. For more, check out the full article: The Powerful Lingo of Superheroes
Vocabulary from "Beowulf" (translated by by Gummere).
This list covers some of the basic words in Shakespeare's play about the assassination of the titular Roman ruler. You can find our lists covering more difficult words here. Here are links to our lists for the play: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV, and Act V Here are links to our lists for other plays by William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Hamlet, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream