fight
• verb (past and past part. fought) 1 take part in a violent struggle involving physical force or weapons. 2 engage in (a war or contest). 3 quarrel or argue. 4 (fight off) defend oneself against an attack by. 5 struggle to overcome, eliminate, or prevent. 6 (fight for) try very hard to obtain or do. • noun an act of fighting. — PHRASES fight fire with fire use the weapons or tactics of one’s opponent, even if one finds them distasteful. fight or flight the instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation, which readies one either to resist forcibly or to run away. fight shy of avoid through unwillingness. fight one’s way move forward with difficulty. — ORIGIN Old English.
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