EN

Synonyms for fight

  • noun
  • verb

Most common

battle conflict war quarrel combat scrap

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Battle

battle, conflict, war, quarrel, argument, brawl, contest, tussle, action, set-to informal, skirmish, affray, scuffle, engagement, fisticuffs informal, squabble, dispute, encounter, altercation, riot, fracas, ruckus

2. Combat

combat, scrap

Other

spirit, belligerence, competitiveness, combativeness, pugnacity

Verb

1. Crusade

crusade, push, campaign, agitate, press

2. Struggle

struggle, contend, cope with

3. Defend

defend, oppose

Other

engage, get physical

Antonyms

surrender, yield, retreat

All antonyms of fight →

Definitions

  1. n. 1

    An occasion of fighting.

    One of them got stuck in a chokehold and got stabbed to death during the fight.

  2. n. 2

    A physical confrontation or combat between two or more people or groups.

    Watch your language! Are you looking for a fight?

  3. v. 1

    Senses relating to physical conflict: To engage in combat with; to oppose physically, to contest with.

    My grandfather fought the Nazis in World War II.

  4. v. 2

    Senses relating to physical conflict: To conduct or engage in (battle, warfare, a cause, etc.).

    Our soldiers fought the battle just over that hill.

Related words

Word family
fighter fighting fightsome fighty
Phrases
fight back fight down fight off armored combat fight knife fight play fight bun fight fight shy

Forms

Plural
fights → battles, conflicts, wars, quarrels…

Choose the right word

Fight or Battle?

Fight is a word of less dignity than battle; we should not ordinarily speak of Waterloo as a fight, unless where the word is used in the sense of fighting; as, I was in the thick of the fight.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • war The Foreign Minister said that war was inevitable.
  • battle Hitler and his allies had won battle after battle.
  • conflict Your behavior is in conflict with your principles.
  • quarrel The quarrel left a gulf between the two families.
  • competitiveness Competitiveness is neither good nor bad in itself.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
fightrising
warsteady
battlerising
conflictrising
quarrelfalling
competitivenessrising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
war1
4 letters
push1, riot2
5 letters
press1, scrap1, brawl1
6 letters
action2, battle2, spirit2, combat2, defend2, engage2, oppose2, ruckus2, tussle2, fracas2, affray
7 letters
contest2, dispute2, crusade2, contend2, quarrel2, scuffle2, agitate3
8 letters
campaign2, conflict2, argument3, struggle2, skirmish2, squabble2
9 letters
encounter3, pugnacity
10 letters
engagement3, fisticuffs3
11 letters
altercation4
12 letters
belligerence4
13 letters
combativeness4
15 letters
competitiveness5

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (riot2 = 2 syllables).