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battle

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verb British English pronunciation: battle /ˈbæt(ə)l/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theybattle
he/she/itbattles
present participlebattling
past tensebattled
past participlebattled
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] to try very hard to deal with a difficult situation

    Many species of birds are battling extinction.

    battle against:

    She described how they had battled against huge waves to save their friend.

    battle to do something:

    Surgeons battled to save the man's life.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of battle
  2. 2
    [intransitive] to compete with someone, or to try to achieve the opposite of what they are trying to achieve
    battle with:

    Hakkinen was battling with Schumacher for first place.

    battle against:

    A small, ill-equipped police force is battling against the powerful drug barons.

    battle for:

    The three men are battling for the world title.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of battle

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