Link Centre Dictionary

battle

UK/ˈbætəɫ/ US/ˈbatʰɫ̩/ common uk
noun (3) verb (1)

noun

1.

a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

  • “Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga”
  • “he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement”
Synonyms
2.

an energetic attempt to achieve something

  • “getting through the crowd was a real struggle”
  • “he fought a battle for recognition”
Synonyms
3.

an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

  • “the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph” -Thomas Paine
  • “police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs”
Synonyms

verb

1.

battle or contend against in or as if in a battle

  • “The Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Northern Iraq”
  • “We must combat the prejudices against other races”
  • “they battled over the budget”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin battālia, variant of battuālia (“fighting and fencing exercises”) from Latin battuō (“to strike, hit, beat, fight”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from a Gaulish or Proto-Germanic root from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to stab, dig”), related to Old English beado (“battle”); or possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Doublet of battalia and battel. Displaced native Old English ġefeoht, beado, camp, and wīg (“battle”), among others.

Phrases

  • active time battle
  • battle axe
  • battle bus
  • Battle Creek
  • battle cruiser
  • battle cry
  • battle fatigue
  • battle fatigues
  • battle it out

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.