combat Hear it!

combat Definition

com·bat (kəm bat′, käm′bat′; kum′bat′; for n. & adj., käm′bat′)

intransitive verb -·bat′ed or -·bat′·ted, -·bat′·ing or -·bat′·ting

to fight, contend, or struggle

Etymology: Fr combattre < VL *combattere < L com-, with + battuere, to beat, fight: see batter

transitive verb

to fight or struggle against; oppose, resist, or seek to get rid of

noun

  1. armed fighting; battle
  2. any struggle or conflict; strife

Etymology: Fr < the v.

adjective

Mil. of or for combat

combat Synonyms

combat

n.

struggle, warfare, conflict, armed fighting; see battle 2, fight 1. See syn. study at battle.

combat Synonyms

combat

v.

battle, oppose, resist, contend; see fight 2, oppose 2.

combat Usage Examples

Object

  • terrorism: These ' extras ' are now required to help to combat terrorism.
  • racism: In Scotland, supporters have formed a national campaign to combat racism in football.
  • exclusion: Inclusive design also has a broader goal - to combat social exclusion.
  • trafficking: There is a significant danger that measures to combat trafficking may prevent genuine asylum seekers from gaining access to asylum procedures.
  • fraud: Back to top What can I do to combat fraud?
  • discrimination: The Treaty of Amsterdam has given EU members broad new powers to combat discrimination.

Adjective modifier

  • hand-to-hand: Troops then leaped onto the enemy ship and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
  • gladiatorial: A man and a woman circle each other in a barbed relationship, a gladiatorial combat and struggle of wills than anything else.
  • unarmed: In her fighter cockpit or in unarmed combat, she's force to be reckoned with.
  • mortal: Seven contestants engage in mortal combat until only one remains.
  • air-to-air: Students will basically learn; how to drop bombs, strafe targets and the basics of air-to-air combat.
  • aerial: Our losses were 23 aircraft lost in aerial combat, eighty lost in ditching.

Present participle complement

  • counterfeit: Background A package of measures to combat counterfeiting and piracy were put forward by the European Commission in October.
  • bully: For details of how to combat bullying in the workplace also see the TUC site.

Modifies a noun

  • trouser: Trousers: Black combat trousers Shoes: White Adidas ' Stan Smith ' .
  • aircraft: The term " combat aircraft " does not include primary trainer aircraft.
  • troop: They are the first US combat troops to enter the war.
  • sortie: Tariq Aziz said that these jets had carried out 76 combat air sorties between October 16 and 23.
  • mission: Still a young man in his early 20s, he was killed while flying a combat mission off the carrier Saratoga.
  • helicopter: Although it looks a bit dated it offers weeks of solid gameplay and gives an interesting insight into the world of combat helicopters.
combat Quotes

   Le mariage doit incessamment combattre un monstre qui de¤ v ore tout: l'habitude. Marriage should always combat the monster that devours everything: habit.

—Balzac, Honore¤   de

The Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of theThames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pupils might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctityand truth of the revelation of Mahomet.

—Gibbon, Edward

Late at e'en, drinkin'the wine, And ere they paid the lawin', They set a combat them between, To fight it at the dawin'. 'O stayat hame, my noble lord, O stay at hame, my marrow! My cruel brother will you betray On the dowie houms o' Yarrow!'

—Ballads