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combat
[ verb kuhm-bat, kom-bat, kuhm-; noun kom-bat, kuhm- ]
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
- Military. active, armed fighting with enemy forces.
- a fight, struggle, or controversy, as between two persons, teams, or ideas.
combat
noun
- a fight, conflict, or struggle
- an action fought between two military forces
- ( as modifier )
a combat jacket
- single combata fight between two individuals; duel
- close combat or hand-to-hand combatfighting at close quarters
verb
- tr to fight or defy
- intr; often foll by with or against to struggle or strive (against); be in conflict (with)
to combat against disease
Derived Forms
- comˈbatable, adjective
- comˈbater, noun
Other Words From
- com·bata·ble adjective
- inter·combat noun
- pre·combat noun verb precombated precombating or (especially British) precombatted precombatting
- self-com·bating adjective
- uncom·bata·ble adjective
- uncom·bated adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of combat1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
For service members, the proposal ensures the military housing allowance no longer counts against eligibility, while former foster youth would see restrictions eased to combat college hunger.
People swallow or gargle the brews to combat routine bacterial infections.
Among its strategies to combat homelessness, the city has used state and federal funds to buy up motels and convert them into affordable housing.
A promising method to combat this problem is desalination technology because it can tap seawater.
Tensions between Israel and the UN over its peacekeeping operations in southern Lebanon have escalated in recent months, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the forces to pull out of “combat areas”.
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More About Combat
What does combat mean?
Combat is most commonly used in a military context to refer to active fighting among opposing armies. To engage in combat is to engage in fighting.
This kind of combat most commonly takes place on a battlefield or warzone on the ground (called a combat zone). Aerial combat involves fighting in the air among air forces.
Hand-to-hand combat involves close fighting, often literally with one’s hands.
Combat is often used as a modifier (adjective) in terms that refer to things related to or involving combat, such as combat training, combat medic, combat fatigue, and combat boots.
Combat is sometimes used more broadly or figuratively to refer to active conflict between two people or groups, as in The two corporations are preparing to do combat in the courtroom. The term verbal combat refers to fighting with words.
Combat is also commonly used as a verb meaning to oppose or work to defeat. It’s especially used when the thing to be defeated is intangible or abstract, as in We need to combat climate change or Our organization works to combat poverty. The figurative senses of the verbs fight and battle are close synonyms of this sense of combat.
The sides engaging in combat can be called combatants. The adjective combative means inclined to fight.
Example: The objective of basic training is to prepare our soldiers for combat.
Where does combat come from?
The first records of the word combat come from the 1500s. It comes from the Late Latin combattere, from com-, meaning “with” or “together,” and the Latin verb battuere, meaning “to strike” or “to beat.” The word battle is based on this same root.
Combat most often implies physical fighting. Military combat on a battlefield can involve close combat—hand-to-hand fighting. This is how the word is used in the name of the popular and controversial video game series Mortal Kombat. The title calls to mind the term martial combat, which is fighting using martial arts.
When combat is used as a verb, it often likens the conflict to a military battle, implying that the thing that’s being combatted is a formidable opponent—that it won’t be defeated without a fight.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to combat?
- combatable (adjective)
What are some synonyms for the noun combat?
What are some synonyms for the verb combat?
What are some words that share a root or word element with combat?
What are some words that often get used in discussing combat?
How is combat used in real life?
Combat is most commonly used in terms of military action. As a verb, it usually means to work to change a negative situation.
73 yrs ago tomorrow was my dad's 1st day of combat in WWII. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge & was badly wounded. They really were the Greatest Generation & suffered things we can't imagine. I re read his "war diary" today. Here's a piece. #VeteransDay pic.twitter.com/aDdTCato3j
— Jimmy Roberts (@JimmyRobertsNBC) November 10, 2017
BREAKING: Civil rights lawyer Larry Krasner, who wants to combat justice system inequalities, is elected Philly's top prosecutor.
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 8, 2017
"Food systems are the dark horse of climate change."
Even if emissions from fossil fuel burning were halted immediately, we still cannot combat the climate crisis without taking on animal agriculture's ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions.https://t.co/akA8o8P8Cs
— Friends of the Earth (Action) (@foe_us) November 16, 2020
Try using combat!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of combat?
A. warfare
B. action
C. peace
D. fighting
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