battle

nouns

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

"Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement"

battle, conflict, engagement, fight

an energetic attempt to achieve something

"getting through the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for recognition"

battle, struggle

an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

"the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs"

battle, conflict, struggle

battle or contend against in or as if in a battle

"The Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Northern Iraq"; "We must combat the prejudices against other races"; "they battled over the budget"

battle, combat

is derived from