battle
♦♦ bat|tle /b'ætəl/ (battles battling battled)
1 [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...
= struggle
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.
= fight
4 [V-RECIP] V with/against n, pl-n V, V n, also pl-n V to-inf
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.
Thousands of people battled with police and several were reportedly wounded...
The sides must battle again for a quarter-final place on December 16...
They're also battling the government to win compensation.
5 [VERB] V to-inf, V with/against/through n, V n
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.
Doctors battled throughout the night to save her life.
...a lone yachtsman returning from his months of battling with the elements...
In Wyoming, firefighters are still battling the two blazes.
= fight
● battler [N-COUNT]
If anyone can do it, he can. He's a battler and has a strong character.
6
see also pitched battle, running battle
7 [PHRASE] 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...
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, 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.
10 [PHRASE] 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...
11 [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.bat|tle cruis|er (battle cruisers)
also battlecruiser
[N-COUNT]
A battle cruiser is a large fast warship that is lighter than a battleship and moves more easily.bat|tle cry (battle cries)
also battle-cry
1 [N-COUNT]
A battle cry is a phrase that is used to encourage people to support a particular cause or campaign.
Their battle-cry will be: `Sign this petition before they sign away your country.'
= rallying cry
2 [N-COUNT]
A battle cry is a shout that soldiers give as they go into battle.pitched bat|tle (pitched battles)
[N-COUNT]
A pitched battle is a very fierce and violent fight involving a large number of people.
Pitched battles were fought with the police.run|ning bat|tle (running battles)
[N-COUNT]
When two groups of people fight a running battle, they keep attacking each other in various parts of a place.
They fought running battles in the narrow streets with police.
1 [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...
= struggle
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.
= fight
4 [V-RECIP] V with/against n, pl-n V, V n, also pl-n V to-inf
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.
Thousands of people battled with police and several were reportedly wounded...
The sides must battle again for a quarter-final place on December 16...
They're also battling the government to win compensation.
5 [VERB] V to-inf, V with/against/through n, V n
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.
Doctors battled throughout the night to save her life.
...a lone yachtsman returning from his months of battling with the elements...
In Wyoming, firefighters are still battling the two blazes.
= fight
● battler [N-COUNT]
If anyone can do it, he can. He's a battler and has a strong character.
6
see also pitched battle, running battle
7 [PHRASE] 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...
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, 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.
10 [PHRASE] 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...
11 [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.bat|tle cruis|er (battle cruisers)
also battlecruiser
[N-COUNT]
A battle cruiser is a large fast warship that is lighter than a battleship and moves more easily.bat|tle cry (battle cries)
also battle-cry
1 [N-COUNT]
A battle cry is a phrase that is used to encourage people to support a particular cause or campaign.
Their battle-cry will be: `Sign this petition before they sign away your country.'
= rallying cry
2 [N-COUNT]
A battle cry is a shout that soldiers give as they go into battle.pitched bat|tle (pitched battles)
[N-COUNT]
A pitched battle is a very fierce and violent fight involving a large number of people.
Pitched battles were fought with the police.run|ning bat|tle (running battles)
[N-COUNT]
When two groups of people fight a running battle, they keep attacking each other in various parts of a place.
They fought running battles in the narrow streets with police.