fight

UK: /ˈfaɪt/ US: /faɪt/ ,(fīt)

Inflections of 'fight' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

fights

v 3rd person singular

fighting

v pres p

fought

v past

fought

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

fight /faɪt/   n., v., fought/fɔt/  fight•ing. 
n. 

1. a battle or combat:
   [countable] a fight between the gangs.
2. any contest or struggle:
   [countable] a tough fight for reelection.
3. an angry argument or disagreement:
   [countable] a fight over who would use the car.
4. Sport a boxing bout:
   [countable] the champ's first fight in almost a year.
5. ability, will, or inclination to fight, keep trying, or resist:
   [uncountable] She still had some fight left in her.

v. 

6. to take part or contend in or as if in battle or in single combat: [~ + object]
   The armies fought each other.
   [no object]
   They fought in World War II.
   [~ + with + object]
   The army fought with the enemy.
   [~ + against + object]
   The U.S. fought against Germany.
7. to contend in any manner;
   struggle vigorously for or against something: [~ + object]
   He had to fight his despair. She fought back her tears.
   [no object]
   The candidates fought hard in the election.
   [~ + for + object]
   They fought hard for their rights.
8. to make (one's way) by fighting or striving:
   [~ + object] She had fought her way to the top.

Idioms

9. Idioms fight it out, [no obj] to fight until a decision is reached:
   Both sides continued to fight it out.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fight  (fīt), n., v., fought, fight•ing. 
n. 

1. a battle or combat.
2. any contest or struggle:
   a fight for recovery from an illness.
3. an angry argument or disagreement:
   Whenever we discuss politics, we end up in a fight.
4. Sport [Boxing.] a bout or contest.
5. a game or diversion in which the participants hit or pelt each other with something harmless:
   a pillow fight; a water fight.
6. ability, will, or inclination to fight:
   There was no fight left in him.

v.i. 

7. to engage in battle or in single combat;
   attempt to defend oneself against or to subdue, defeat, or destroy an adversary.
8. to contend in any manner;
   strive vigorously for or against something:
   He fought bravely against despair.

v.t. 

9. to contend with in battle or combat;
   war against:
   England fought Germany.
10. to contend with or against in any manner:
    to fight despair; to fight the passage of a bill.
11. to carry on (a battle, duel, etc.).
12. to maintain (a cause, quarrel, etc.) by fighting or contending.
13. to make (one's way) by fighting or striving.
14. to cause or set (a boxer, animal, etc.) to fight.
15. to manage or maneuver (troops, ships, guns, planes, etc.) in battle.
16. Idioms fight it out, to fight until a decision is reached:
    Let them fight it out among themselves.
17. Idioms fight shy of. See shy ¹ (def. 9).
18. Idioms fight with windmills. See tilt ¹ (def. 10).

• bef. 900; (verb, verbal) Middle English fi(g)hten, Old English fe(o)htan (cognate with German fechten); (noun, nominal) Middle English fi(g)ht, Old English feohte, (ge)feoht, derivative of the verb, verbal base

fight′a•ble, adj. 
fight′a•bil′i•ty, n. 
fight′ing•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1, 2. encounter, engagement, affray, fray, action, skirmish, melee; scuffle, tussle, row, riot.
  Fight, combat, conflict, contest denote a struggle of some kind.
  Fight connotes a hand-to-hand struggle for supremacy, literally or in a figurative sense.
  Combat suggests an armed encounter, to settle a dispute.
  Conflict implies a bodily, mental, or moral struggle caused by opposing views, beliefs, etc.
  Contest applies to either a friendly or a hostile struggle for a definite prize or aim.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

fight / faɪt/ verb (fights, fighting, fought)

1. to oppose or struggle against (an enemy) in battle
2. to oppose or struggle against (a person, thing, cause, etc) in any manner
3. (transitive) to engage in or carry on (a battle, contest, etc)
4. when intr often followed by for: to uphold or maintain (a cause, ideal, etc) by fighting or struggling: to fight for freedom
5. (transitive) to make or achieve (a way) by fighting
6. to engage (another or others) in combat
7. fight it out ⇒ to contend or struggle until a decisive result is obtained
8. fight shy of ⇒ to keep aloof from

noun

1. a battle, struggle, or physical combat
2. a quarrel, dispute, or contest
3. resistance (esp in the phrase to put up a fight)
4. a boxing match

Etymology: Old English feohtan; related to Old Frisian fiuchta, Old Saxon, Old High German fehtan to fight