BATTLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does battle mean? 

• BATTLE (noun)
  The noun BATTLE has 3 senses:

1. a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

2. an energetic attempt to achieve something

3. an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

  Familiarity information: BATTLE used as a noun is uncommon.

• BATTLE (verb)
  The verb BATTLE has 1 sense:

1. battle or contend against in or as if in a battle

  Familiarity information: BATTLE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BATTLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

battle; conflict; engagement; fight

Context example:

he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement

Hypernyms ("battle" is a kind of...):

action; military action (a military engagement)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "battle"):

Armageddon (any catastrophically destructive battle)

pitched battle (a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place)

naval battle (a pitched battle between naval fleets)

armed combat; combat (an engagement fought between two military forces)

dogfight (an aerial engagement between fighter planes)

assault (close fighting during the culmination of a military attack)

Instance hyponyms:

Drogheda (in 1649 the place was captured by Oliver Cromwell, who massacred the Catholic inhabitants)

Battle of Britain (the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it)

Holonyms ("battle" is a part of...):

war; warfare (the waging of armed conflict against an enemy)

Derivation:

battle (battle or contend against in or as if in a battle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An energetic attempt to achieve something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

battle; struggle

Context example:

he fought a battle for recognition

Hypernyms ("battle" is a kind of...):

attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "battle"):

scramble; scuffle (an unceremonious and disorganized struggle)

joust; tilt (a combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances)

duel (any struggle between two skillful opponents (individuals or groups))

Sense 3

Meaning:

An open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

battle; conflict; struggle

Context example:

police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs

Hypernyms ("battle" is a kind of...):

group action (action taken by a group of people)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "battle"):

class struggle; class war; class warfare (conflict between social or economic classes (especially between the capitalist and proletariat classes))

insurrection; rebellion; revolt; rising; uprising (organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another)

counterinsurgency; pacification (actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency)

strife (bitter conflict; heated often violent dissension)

tug-of-war (any hard struggle between equally matched groups)

turf war (a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights)

combat; fight; fighting; scrap (the act of fighting; any contest or struggle)

feud (a bitter quarrel between two parties)

war; warfare (an active struggle between competing entities)

Derivation:

battle (battle or contend against in or as if in a battle)

• BATTLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they battle    ... he / she / it battles   
Past simple: battled   
Past participle: battled   
-ing form: battling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Battle or contend against in or as if in a battle

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

battle; combat

Context example:

they battled over the budget

Hypernyms (to "battle" is one way to...):

contend; fight; struggle (be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "battle"):

dogfight (engage in an aerial battle with another fighter plane)

wrestle (combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue battle
Sam cannot battle Sue

Derivation:

battle (a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war)

battle (an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals))

battler (someone who fights (or is fighting))

 Context examples 

It began to appear to him that the second battle was lost and that he would have to go to work.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

In front of the central guest-chamber stood Du Guesclin and Sir Nigel, half-clad and unarmored, with the mad joy of battle gleaming in their eyes.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The aërial battle was over, and Thomas Mugridge, whining and gibbering, his mouth flecked with bloody foam, was brought down to deck.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It was battle, murder, and sudden death, leastways—him against six.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Belcher has consented to train you for the coming battle if you are willing to enter.”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They were not in sufficient numbers, and besides they were hunting the caribou, which did not battle, while this strange creature that walked erect might scratch and bite.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A legal battle over a 10,600-year-old ancient skeleton – called the ‘Spirit Cave Mummy’ – has ended after advanced DNA sequencing found it was related to a Native American tribe.

(Ancient DNA analysis unlocks secrets of Ice Age tribes in the Americas, University of Cambridge)

About 280 firefighters were battling the blazes while 22,000 homes were without power in the region after the high winds brought down trees.

(Australian Wildfires Destroy Homes, Kill Cattle as Hundreds of People Flee, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

But to win the battles, the player needs to apply math skills of elementary school.

(Brazilian professor creates mobile game that combines fun with mathematics, Agência Brasil)

A fungus genetically engineered to produce spider toxin can crush populations of malaria-spreading mosquitoes, according to a study hailed as a breakthrough by international scientists battling to combat the disease.

(Genetically modified fungus hailed as malaria breakthrough, SciDev.Net)