battle
1 Americannoun
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a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces.
the battle of Waterloo.
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participation in such hostile encounters or engagements.
wounds received in battle.
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a fight between two persons or animals.
ordering a trial by battle to settle the dispute.
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any conflict or struggle.
a battle for control of the Senate.
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Archaic. a battalion.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to fight (a person, army, cause, etc.).
We battled strong winds and heavy rains in our small boat.
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to force or accomplish by fighting, struggling, etc..
He battled his way to the top of his profession.
idioms
verb (used with object)
noun
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a fight between large armed forces; military or naval engagement; combat
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conflict; contention; struggle
his battle for recognition
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to start fighting
verb
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to fight in or as if in military combat; contend (with)
she battled against cancer
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to struggle in order to achieve something or arrive somewhere
he battled through the crowd
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(intr) to scrape a living, esp by doing odd jobs
noun
noun
Related Words
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 Word Forms
- battler noun
Etymology
Origin of battle1
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; -al 2, bate 2
Origin of battle2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English batailen, from Middle French bataillier “to provide with batailles; battlement
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is a constant battle to remove fingerprints and glare from lights before each shot, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
At the heart of this effort is a fast-moving battle over how consumers will find and buy everything from toilet paper to furniture through AI platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
The government’s August 2025 memo at the center of the legal battle directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to get more information from colleges to “provide adequate transparency into admissions.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
They are both in the thick of the relegation battle at the bottom of the table and will surely have at least one eye on that, rather than being fully focused on the FA Cup.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
A cottage that was going to be the center of the battle between a genie and Phillip’s fairy godmother.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
