FIGHTING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fighting mean? 

• FIGHTING (noun)
  The noun FIGHTING has 1 sense:

1. the act of fighting; any contest or struggle

  Familiarity information: FIGHTING used as a noun is very rare.

• FIGHTING (adjective)
  The adjective FIGHTING has 1 sense:

1. engaged in or ready for military or naval operations

  Familiarity information: FIGHTING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FIGHTING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of fighting; any contest or struggle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

combat; fight; fighting; scrap

Context example:

the unhappy couple got into a terrible scrap

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

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

Meronyms (parts of "fighting"):

blow (a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon)

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

affaire d'honneur; duel (a prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor)

single combat (a fight between two people)

gang fight; rumble (a fight between rival gangs of adolescents)

cut-and-thrust; knife fight; snickersnee (fighting with knives)

brawl; free-for-all (a noisy fight in a crowd)

affray; disturbance; fray; ruffle (a noisy fight)

beating; whipping (the act of overcoming or outdoing)

banging; battering (the act of subjecting to strong attack)

fistfight; fisticuffs; slugfest (a fight with bare fists)

gunfight; gunplay; shootout (a fight involving shooting small arms with the intent to kill or frighten)

dogfight; hassle; rough-and-tumble; scuffle; tussle (disorderly fighting)

impact; shock (the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat)

set-to (a brief but vigorous fight)

in-fighting (conflict between members of the same organization (usually concealed from outsiders))

fencing (the art or sport of fighting with swords (especially the use of foils or epees or sabres to score points under a set of rules))

dogfight (a violent fight between dogs (sometimes organized illegally for entertainment and gambling))

close-quarter fighting (hand-to-hand fighting at close quarters)

brush; clash; encounter; skirmish (a minor short-term fight)

Derivation:

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

• FIGHTING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Engaged in or ready for military or naval operations

Synonyms:

active; combat-ready; fighting

Context example:

review the fighting forces

Similar:

operational ((military) of or intended for or involved in military operations)

Domain category:

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

 Context examples 

They stopped when they heard the call, but looking round and seeing nobody, they went on again with their fighting, which now became more furious.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

That is what I want, Sir Charles—to have a chance of fighting my way upwards.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Lysosomes are subcellular structures that play roles in optimizing nutrition and fighting infections and now, with these findings, in skin pigmentation.

(New regions of the human genome linked to skin color variation in some African populations, National Institutes of Health)

Cancer-fighting T cells inside the tumor can get “exhausted” and die.

(Harnessing T-cell “stemness” could enhance cancer immunotherapy, National Institutes of Health)

Experts are fighting over this question.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

DLBCL is the most common type of lymphoma—cancer that arises in the lymphatic system, where infection-fighting cells are made.

(Tumor DNA in Blood Reveals Lymphoma Progression, NIH)

The Superintendent of Schools, good old man, stopped Martin on the street and remembered him, recalling seances in his office when Martin was expelled from school for fighting.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against his emotion.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And he thought of Oona, and of her words: "And when the fighting begins, it is for thee, Negore, to crawl secretly away so that thou be not slain."

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

In loud voices they shouted over the day’s fighting, wrangled about details, or waxed affectionate and made friends with the men whom they had fought.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)