BATTLE
noun
Synonyms
Conflict; encounter; contest; action. Battle, Combat, Fight, Engagement. These words agree in denoting a close encounter between contending parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied to the encounter of a few individuals, and more commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight. A combat is a close encounter, whether between few or many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or intermingled in the conflict.
Definitions
- 1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat.
- 2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life. The whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem of the best poet of that day. H. Morley.
- 3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.] The king divided his army into three battles. Bacon. The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every action. Robertson.
- 4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia. [Obs.] Hayward.
Other Definitions
This word also has 2 other definitions:
Added: October 09, 2025
Updated: October 09, 2025