- battle
- [[t]bæ̱t(ə)l[/t]]
♦♦battles, battling, battled1) N-VAR A battle is a violent fight between groups of people, especially one between military forces during a war.
...the victory of King William III at the Battle of the Boyne.
...after a gun battle between police and drug traffickers.
...men who die in battle.
2) N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N prep A battle is a conflict in which different people or groups compete in order to achieve success or control....a renewed political battle over Britain's attitude to Europe.
...the eternal battle between good and evil in the world.
...a macho battle for supremacy...
He was appalled to discover members of the board fighting damaging personal battles.
Syn:3) N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N against n You can use battle to refer to someone's efforts to achieve something in spite of very difficult circumstances....the battle against crime...
She has fought a constant battle with her weight...
Greg lost his brave battle against cancer two years ago.
Syn:4) V-RECIP To battle with an opposing group means to take part in a fight or contest against them. In American English, you can also say that one group or person is battling another.[V with/against n] In one town thousands of people battled with police and several were reportedly wounded...
[pl-n V] The sides must battle again for a quarter-final place on December 16...
[V n] They're also battling the government to win compensation. [Also pl-n V to-inf]
5) VERB To battle means to try hard to do something in spite of very difficult circumstances. In British English, you battle against something or with something. In American English, you battle something.[V to-inf] Doctors battled throughout the night to save her life.
[V with/against/through n] ...a lone yachtsman returning from his months of battling with the elements...
[V n] In Wyoming, firefighters are still battling the two blazes.
Syn:Derived words:battler N-COUNTIf anyone can do it, he can. He's a battler and has a strong character.
6) → See also , running battle7) PHR-RECIP: V inflects, PHR with/against n, pl-n PHR If one person or group does battle with another, they take part in a battle or contest against them. You can also say that two people or groups do battle....the notorious Montonero guerrilla group who did battle with the army during the dirty war...
This March, a British and an American company will do battle in the High Court over the right to press compact discs.
8) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR If you say that something is half the battle, you mean that it is the most important step towards achieving something.Choosing the right type of paint for the job is half the battle.
9) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that the battle lines are drawn between opposing groups or people, you mean that they are ready to start fighting or arguing, and that it has become clear what the main points of conflict or disagreement will be.The battle lines were drawn after the government refused to budge from its final offer.
10) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with/against n, PHR to-inf If you are fighting a losing battle, you are trying to achieve something but are not going to be successful.The crew fought a losing battle to try to restart the engines.
...on a day when the sun is fighting a losing battle against the lowering clouds.
11) PHR-RECIP: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR If one group or person battles it out with another, they take part in a fight or contest against each other until one of them wins or a definite result is reached. You can also say that two groups or two people battle it out.In the Cup Final, Leeds battled it out with the old enemy, Manchester United...
Barbados could have three new political parties battling it out in the next General Election.
12) PHRASE: Vs and battle inflect If you say that someone has lost the battle , but won the war, you mean that although they have been defeated in a small conflict they have won a larger, more important one of which it was a part. If you say that someone has won the battle but lost the war, you mean that they have won the small conflict but lost the larger one.The strikers may have won the battle, but they lost the war.
13) PHRASE A battle of wills is a situation that involves people who try to defeat each other by refusing to change their own aims or demands and hoping that their opponents will weaken first.The President offered compromises to parliament to defuse the battle of wills over who should wield power.
14) PHRASE: battle inflects If you refer to a situation as a battle of wits, you mean that it involves people with opposing aims who compete with each other using their intelligence, rather than force.With chess you're involved in a battle of wits from start to finish.
English dictionary. 2008.
