Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

fight

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb American English pronunciation: fight /faɪt/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theyfight
he/she/itfights
present participlefighting
past tensefought
past participlefought
 
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] if people fight, they use guns or other weapons against each other

    These men had fought the Japanese in Iwo Jima.

    fight against:

    The French had no desire to fight against the British.

    fight for:

    We believed we were fighting for freedom and democracy.

    fight to do something:

    Allied troops fought to liberate the city.

    fight a war/battle:

    The terrorists claim that they are fighting a just war.

    fight bravely/valiantly/hard:

    The young soldiers fought valiantly but were soon defeated.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight
  2. 2
    [intransitive/transitive] if people or animals fight, they hit, kick, or bite each other
    fight with:

    Protesters fought with the police outside the Embassy building.

    fight over:

    Children fought over scraps of food.

    fight to the death:

    Male lions rarely fight to the death over females.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight
    1. a.
      to hit someone as part of a sport, especially boxing
      fight someone for something:

      He hopes to fight the champion for the world title.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight
  3. 3
    [intransitive] to disagree or argue about something
    fight about:

    What are you two fighting about now?

    fight over:

    Look, I don’t want to fight over this.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight
  4. 4
    [intransitive/transitive] to try very hard to prevent something from happening or getting worse

    The government has restated its determination to fight terrorism.

    fight against:

    All her life she fought against racism.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight
  5. 5
    [intransitive/transitive] to try in a very determined way to achieve something

    The survivors have fought a ten-year battle for justice.

    fight to do something:

    Local campaigners are fighting to save the library from closing.

    fight for:

    Many of the injured are still fighting for compensation.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight
  6. 6
    [transitive] to try very hard not to show a feeling or not to do something you want to do
    fight the urge/impulse/desire:

    She fought the urge to run after him.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight
  7. 7
    [intransitive/transitive] to compete in order to win something or get something

    Our party is ready to fight in the election.

    fight for:

    Four teams will be fighting for a place in the finals.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  fightThesaurus entry for this meaning of fight

This is the American English definition of fight. View British English definition of fight.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog