fight

1 /faIt/ past tense and past participle fought verb

1 WAR (I, T) to take part in a war or battle: Did your Uncle fight in the last war? | fight sb: Vietnam fought France and then the US over 30 years.

(+ against/with): He fought against the Russians on the Eastern Front. (+ about/over/for): Britain and Argentina fought for control of the islands. | fight a war: Neither country is capable of fighting a long war.

2 HIT PEOPLE (I, T) if someone fights another person, or if two people fight, they hit and kick each other in order to hurt each other: Two guys were fighting in the street outside the bar. | fight sb: Grant has fought most of the boys in his street.

(+ with): Phil was fighting with Ryan in the playground. (+ about/over/for): two dogs fighting over a bone

3 COMPETE (I, T) to compete strongly for something, especially a job or political position or in a sport : fight sb for sth: Williams fought several rivals for the leadership of the party.

(+ for): If you want the job you'll have to fight for it. | fight an election: The mayor has decided against fighting another election.

4 ARGUE (I) to argue about something: The kids fought in the back seat the whole trip.

(+ about/over): They're fighting about whose turn it is to do the dishes.

5 SPORT (I, T) to hit someone as a sport: Ali fought Foreman for the heavyweight title.

6 EMOTION (T) also fight back/down to try very hard not to show your feelings or not to do something you want to do: He fought the impulse to slap her.

7 fight your way to push people away in order to go somewhere: We fought our way through the crowd.

8 fight a losing battle to work hard when you cannot succeed: I think they're fighting a losing battle with that libel suit.

9 fight shy of doing sth to try to avoid doing something or being involved in something: Jane fought shy of participating in the discussions.

10 fighting spirit/words the desire to fight or words which express that desire: The marches aroused their fighting spirit.

11 have a fighting chance to have a chance to do something or achieve something if you work very hard at it: Lewis has a fighting chance to win the gold medal.

12 fight fire with fire to use the same methods as your opponents in an argument

fight back phrasal verb

1 (I) to use violence against someone who has attacked you: The rebels are fighting back.

2 (I) to work hard to prevent something bad happening: Victims of discrimination often don't have the power to fight back.

3 (transitive fight something back) to try hard not to show your feelings : fight back tears: She fought back the tears until she got home.

fight sb/sth off phrasal verb (T)

1 to use violence to keep someone or something away: The stars had to fight off the crowds to get out of the auditorium.

2 to try hard to get rid of something: Elaine's fighting off a cold. | Bardot fought off the sex symbol image.

fight sth out phrasal verb (T) to argue, or use violence until a disagreement is settled: We left them to fight it out. 2 noun

1 HIT (C) an act of fighting in which two people or groups hit, push etc each other

(+ between): a fight between two gangs. (+ over): fights over territory | get into a fight: He's always getting into fights with other boys. | have a fight: The cat had a fight last night. | start/pick a fight: Are you trying to start a fight?

2 BATTLE (C) a battle between two armies, especially the fighting that happens at one particular place and time

(+ for): the fight for Bunker Hill

3 ARGUMENT (C) a quarrel or an argument : have a fight: They've had a fight with the neighbours.

4 ACHIEVE/PREVENT STH (singular) the work of trying to achieve something, change something, or prevent something

(+ against): the fight against crime (+ for): We will not give up the fight for better conditions. | have a fight on your hands (=have to oppose someone to achieve something): He'll have a fight on his hands to get Malone acquitted.

5 SPORT (C) an act of fighting as a sport: Are you going to watch the big fight tonight?

6 ENERGY (U) the energy and desire to keep fighting for something you want to achieve: There's still plenty of fight left in your grandmother.

7 put up a good fight to work very hard to fight or compete in a difficult situation: Although our team didn't win, they put up a good fight.

8 a fight to the finish a fight that continues until one side is completely defeated

—see also: pick a quarrel/fight pick 1 (9)