v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Fought p. pr. & vb. n. Fighting. ] [ OE. fihten, fehten, AS. feohtan; akin to D. vechten, OHG. fehtan, G. fechten, Sw. fäkta, Dan. fegte, and perh. to E. fist; cf. L. pugnare to fight, pugnus fist. ] 1. To strive or contened for victory, with armies or in single combat; to attempt to defeat, subdue, or destroy an enemy, either by blows or weapons; to contend in arms; -- followed by with or against. [ 1913 Webster ]

You do fight against your country's foes. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fight with thee no man of arms will deign. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To act in opposition to anything; to struggle against; to contend; to strive; to make resistance. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fight shy, to avoid meeting fairly or at close quarters; to keep out of reach. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. fight, feht, AS. feoht. See Fight, v. i. ] 1. A battle; an engagement; a contest in arms; a combat; a violent conflict or struggle for victory, between individuals or between armies, ships, or navies, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who now defies thee thrice to single fight. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A struggle or contest of any kind. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Strength or disposition for fighting; pugnacity; as, he has a great deal of fight in him. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A screen for the combatants in ships. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Up with your fights, and your nettings prepare. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Running fight, a fight in which the enemy is continually chased; also, one which continues without definite end or result.

Syn. -- Combat; engagement; contest; struggle; encounter; fray; affray; action; conflict. See Battle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To carry on, or wage, as a conflict, or battle; to win or gain by struggle, as one's way; to sustain by fighting, as a cause. [ 1913 Webster ]

He had to fight his way through the world. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have fought a good fight. 2 Tim. iv. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To contend with in battle; to war against; as, they fought the enemy in two pitched battles; the sloop fought the frigate for three hours. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to fight; to manage or maneuver in a fight; as, to fight cocks; to fight one's ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fight it out, to fight until a decisive and conclusive result is reached. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. feohtere. ] 1. One who fights; a combatant; a warrior. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A boxer; a pugilist. [ PJC ]

3. A person with the determination and will to persist through great difficulty to achieve a goal; one with the courage to fight and resist an opponent, and to struggle with all one's powers. [ PJC ]

4. (Mil.) A military aircraft designed to seek out and destroy enemy aircraft; it is usually smaller and more maneuvarable than aircraft designed specifically for bombing. However, hybrid fighter-bomber aircraft that perform both functions also are used. [ PJC ]

a. 1. Qualified for war; fit for battle. [ 1913 Webster ]

An host of fighting men. 2 Chron. xxvi. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Occupied in war; being the scene of a battle; as, a fighting field. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

A fighting chance, one dependent upon the issue of a struggle. [ Colloq. ] --
Fighting crab (Zool.), the fiddler crab. --
Fighting fish (Zool.), a remarkably pugnacious East Indian fish (Betta pugnax), reared by the Siamese for spectacular fish fights. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Pugnaciously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Fight + wite. ] (O.Eng. Law) A mulct or fine imposed on a person for making a fight or quarrel to the disturbance of the peace. [ 1913 Webster ]