Fight — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈfīt/

Meaning & Definition of Fight

Fight (verb)

  1. to contend in battle or physical combat; especially, to strive to overcome a person by blows or weapons
  2. to engage in boxing
  3. to put forth a determined effort

Fight (noun)

  1. a hostile encounter, battle, combat
  2. a boxing match
  3. a verbal disagreement, argument

Fight (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to oppose (someone) in physical conflict

    "a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland"

    similar: battle, clash (with), combat, scrimmage (with), skirmish (with), war (against)
    related: duel, joust, bang, bash, bat, batter, beat, belt, bludgeon, bop, buffet, clobber, hammer, hit, knock, paste, pound, punch, slam, slap, slog, slug, smack, smite, sock, strike, swat, swipe, thump, thwack, wallop, whack, whale, box, spar, brawl, grapple, scuffle, tussle, wrestle, bump, collide
    near: give up, submit, surrender

  2. to strive to reduce or eliminate

    "a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice"

    similar: battle, combat, contend (with), counter, oppose, oppugn
    related: baffle, checkmate, foil, frustrate, resist, thwart, withstand, confront, defy, face, meet
    opposite: advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote
    near: abide, bear, endure, suffer, advocate, back, champion, endorse, support, uphold

  3. to engage in a contest

    "everyone on that street seems to be fighting to see who can create the gaudiest holiday lighting display"

    similar: battle, compete, contend, face off, race, rival, vie
    related: challenge, engage, play, jockey, jostle, maneuver, go out, try out, train, work

  4. to express different opinions about something often angrily

    "if you kids continue to fight, I'm turning this car around and we're heading back home!"

    similar: altercate, argue, argufy, bicker, brabble, brawl, controvert, dispute, fall out, hassle, jar, quarrel, quibble, row, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle, bandy words, butt heads, lock horns, mix it up
    related: challenge, dare, defy, clash, contend, contest, tangle, cavil, fuss, nitpick, consider, debate, discuss, kick, object, protest
    near: coexist, get along, accept, agree, assent, concur, consent

  5. to refuse to give in to

    "I tried to fight the temptation to eat another cookie—and lost"

    similar: buck, defy, oppose, repel, resist, withstand
    related: battle, combat, contend (with), challenge, contest, contradict, dispute, baffle, balk, foil, frustrate, thwart, check, counter, hinder, obstruct, stem
    opposite: bow (to), capitulate (to), give in (to), knuckle under (to), stoop (to), submit (to), succumb (to), surrender (to), yield (to)

Fight (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups

    "a troubled youth who got into one fight after another"

    similar: battle, clash, combat, conflict, contest, dustup, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussle
    related: pitched battle, rough-and-tumble, affray (chiefly British), battle royal, brawl, broil, donnybrook, free-for-all, melee, mix-up, ruckus, ruction, blows, fistfight, fisticuffs, grapple, handgrips, punch-out, punch-up (chiefly British), slugfest, confrontation, duel, face-off, joust, altercation, argle-bargle (chiefly British), argument, argy-bargy (chiefly British), contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, falling-out, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, row, spat, squabble, tangle, tiff, wrangle, catfight
    near: truce

  2. a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective

    "the mayoral candidate pledged to lead a successful fight to improve the city's schools"

    similar: battle, fray, scrabble, struggle, throes
    related: effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, work, drudgery, grind, sweat, toil, travail, combat, conflict, contest, strife, tussle, war, warfare, attempt, endeavor, essay, try

  3. an inclination to fight or quarrel

    "a tough, streetwise kid with a lot of fight in him"

    similar: aggression, aggressiveness, assaultiveness, bellicosity, belligerence, belligerency, combativeness, contentiousness, defiance, disputatiousness, feistiness, militance, militancy, militantness, pugnacity, quarrelsomeness, scrappiness, truculence, chip on one's shoulder
    related: antagonism, fierceness, hostility, hyperaggressiveness, unfriendliness, imperialism, jingoism, militarism, acidity, biliousness, captiousness, crankiness, crossness, disagreeableness, fractiousness, fretfulness, grouchiness, grumpiness, huffiness, irascibility, irascibleness, irritability, irritableness, orneriness, peevishness, pettishness, petulance, querulousness, rudeness, surliness, testiness, waspishness
    opposite: nonaggression, pacifism
    near: antiaggression, anti-imperialism, antimilitarism, affability, amiability, amicability, benevolence, cordiality, friendliness, geniality, graciousness, pleasantness, sociability, gentleness, kindliness, mildness, amenability, complaisance, placability

  4. an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions

    "the couple have their share of fights, but they quickly get over them"

    similar: altercation, argle-bargle (chiefly British), argument, argy-bargy (chiefly British), battle royal, bicker, brawl, contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, donnybrook, falling-out, hassle, imbroglio, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, rhubarb, row, scrap, set-to, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle
    related: clash, run-in, skirmish, tangle, tussle, logomachy, feud, vendetta, attack, contention, dissension, debate, difference, disputation, fuss, objection, protest, protestation, affray (chiefly British), fisticuffs, fracas, fray, free-for-all, melee, catfight

Related Entry: Fight shy of (phrase)

Fight shy of is a different word from Fight. The synonyms below are for fight shy of, not for fight.

  1. to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery

    "They'd always managed to fight shy of legal recourse."

    similar: avoid, dodge, duck, elude, escape, eschew, evade, finesse, get around, scape, shake, shirk, shuffle (out of), shun, weasel (out of), keep clear of, stay clear of, steer clear of
    related: miss, avert, deflect, divert, obviate, parry, prevent, ward (off), ban, bar, debar, eliminate, except, exclude, preclude, rule out, bypass, circumvent, skirt, foil, fox, frustrate, outfox, outsmart, outwit, overreach, thwart
    near: accept, court, embrace, pursue, seek, welcome, catch, contract, incur

Related Entry: Fight song (noun)

Fight song is a different word from Fight. The synonyms below are for fight song, not for fight.

  1. as in drinking song

    similar: drinking song, aria, art song, barcarole, blues, chanson, chant, chantey, chorus, croon, descant, folk song, glee, lullaby, madrigal, motet, part-song, pop, rocker, round, roundelay, serenade, standard, torch song, hallelujah, paean, cover, medley, remix, dirge, lament, requiem, threnody, anthem, cantata, canticle, carol, chorale, hymn, noel, psalm, spiritual, ballad, ditty, jingle, lay, lyric, song, vocal

Related Entry: Fight songs (noun)

Fight songs is a different word from Fight. The synonyms below are for fight songs, not for fight.

  1. as in drinking songs

    similar: drinking songs, arias, art songs, barcaroles, blues, chansons, chanteys, chants, choruses, croons, descants, folk songs, glees, lullabies, madrigals, motets, part-songs, pops, rockers, roundelays, rounds, serenades, standards, torch songs, hallelujahs, paeans, covers, medleys, remixes, dirges, laments, requiems, threnodies, anthems, cantatas, canticles, carols, chorales, hymns, noels, psalms, spirituals, ballads, ditties, jingles, lays, lyrics, songs, vocals

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Fight

The most common words with a similar meaning to Fight:

Chiefly British: argle-bargle, argy-bargy
battle, clash (with), combat, scrimmage (with), skirmish (with), war (against), contend (with), counter, oppose, oppugn, compete, contend, face off, race, rival, vie, altercate, argue, argufy, bicker, brabble, brawl, controvert, dispute, fall out, hassle, jar, quarrel, quibble, row, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle, buck, defy, repel, resist, withstand

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Fight

Words with the opposite meaning of Fight:

advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote, bow (to), capitulate (to), give in (to), knuckle under (to), stoop (to), submit (to), succumb (to), surrender (to), yield (to), nonaggression, pacifism

Related Words for Fight

duel, joust, bang, bash, bat, batter, beat, belt, bludgeon, bop, buffet, clobber, hammer, hit, knock, paste, pound, punch, slam, slap, slog, slug, smack, smite, sock, strike, swat, swipe, thump, thwack

Near Antonyms of Fight

give up, submit, surrender, abide, bear, endure, suffer, advocate, back, champion, endorse, support, uphold, coexist, get along, accept, agree, assent, concur, consent, truce, antiaggression, anti-imperialism, antimilitarism, affability, amiability, amicability, benevolence, cordiality, friendliness

Word Forms of Fight

Inflections: fought, fighting

Origin & Etymology of Fight

Middle English, from Old English feohtan; akin to Old High German fehtan to fight and perhaps to Latin pectere to comb pectinate

First known use: before 12th centuryi

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Fight

Words & Phrases Containing Fight

fight back tears, fight-or-flight, fight shy of, fight song, fight a losing battle, fight back

Frequently Asked Questions about Fight

What does "Fight" mean?

"Fight" means to contend in battle or physical combat; especially, to strive to overcome a person by blows or weapons. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to contend in battle or physical combat; especially, to strive to overcome a person by blows or weapons. It has 9 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Fight"?

Other words for "Fight" include battle, clash (with), combat, scrimmage (with), skirmish (with), war (against), contend (with) and counter. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Fight" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Fight"?

There are 246 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Fight". Common alternatives include battle, clash (with), combat, scrimmage (with), skirmish (with), war (against), contend (with), counter, oppose and oppugn.

What is the opposite of "Fight"?

Antonyms of "Fight" include advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish and nurture. Near antonyms include give up, submit, surrender and abide.

How do you use "Fight" in a sentence?

Examples of "Fight" in a sentence: "a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland"; "a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice"; "everyone on that street seems to be fighting to see who can create the gaudiest holiday lighting display".

Is "Fight" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Fight" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Fight" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A2-level word, "Fight" is typical of Cambridge A2 Key (KET), PTE Academic 30–42, TOEIC Listening & Reading 225+.

How do you pronounce "Fight"?

"Fight" is pronounced /ˈfīt/.