fight
Meanings
- Senses relating to physical conflict:
- To engage in combat with; to oppose physically, to contest with.
- To conduct or engage in (battle, warfare, a cause, etc.).
- To contend in physical conflict, either singly or in war, battle, etc.
- To contend in physical conflict with each other, either singly or in war, battle, etc.
- To cause to fight; to manage or manoeuvre in a fight.
- To strive for something; to campaign or contend for success.
- To try to overpower; to fiercely counteract.
- Of colours or other design elements: to clash; to fail to harmonize.
- An occasion of fighting.
- A battle between opposing armies.
- A physical confrontation or combat between two or more people or groups.
- A boxing or martial arts match.
- A conflict, possibly nonphysical, with opposing ideas or forces; strife.
- The will or ability to fight.
- A screen for the combatants in ships; an arming.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English fighten (“to fight”), from Old English feohtan (“to fight, combat, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan (“to fight”), from Proto-Germanic *fehtaną (“to comb, tease, shear, struggle with”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to comb, shear”). Cognate with Scots fecht (“to fight”), West Frisian fjochtsje, fjuchte (“to fight”), Dutch vechten (“to fight”), Low German fechten (“to fight”), German fechten (“to fight, fence”), Danish fægte (“to fence, to fight (using blade weapons)”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk fekte (“to fence”), Swedish fäkta (“to fence, to fight (using blade weapons), to wave vigorously (and carelessly) with one's arms”), Latin pectō (“comb, thrash”, verb), Albanian pjek (“to hit, strive, fight”), Ancient Greek πέκω (pékō, “comb or card wool”, verb). Related also to Old English feht (“wool, shaggy pelt, fleece”).