{ }, n. a sport of great antiquity, in which men torment, and fight with, a bull or bulls in an arena, for public amusement, -- still popular in Spain, Portugal and Latin American. In the Spanish version a matador kills the bull with a sword after the bull has been weakened by wounds from small barbed rods, and after he has displayed courage and artistic skill in causing the bull to charge many times while he stands still or nearly still. In some versions the bull is not killed. Occasionally the matador is wounded or killed by the bull. -- Bull"fight`er n.
Syn. -- corrida. [1913 Webster +PJC]

n. the activity at a bullfight. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One accustomed to bushfighting. Parkman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Fighting in the bush, or from behind bushes, trees, or thickets. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Camp, n., 6. ] (O. Eng. Law.) A duel; the decision of a case by a duel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. (Naut.) Barriers with loopholes, formerly erected on the deck of a vessel to shelter the men in a close engagement with an enemy's boarders; -- called also close quarters. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A match or contest of gamecocks. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Addicted to cockfighting. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or practice of pitting gamecocks to fight. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 ]

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. [ 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 ]

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 ]

n. A person whose occupation it is to go to the scene of an unwanted fire and extinguish it; a member of a fire company; a fireman{ 1 } or a woman who fights fires. Some towns have few or no professional firefighters, and fire suppression is conducted mostly by groups of volunteers, called volunteer firefighters. The term fireman{ 1 } was at one time synonymous with firefighter, until women began to engage in the same occupation. [ PJC ]

n. A conflict by persons on foot; -- distinguished from a fight on horseback. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A fight with the hands; boxing. “Pollux loves handyfights.” B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ in- + fighting. ] 1. contention among members of the same organization (usually concealed from outsiders), sometimes of a bitter, intense, or prolonged character. [ Such infighting may lead to factionalism. ] PJC ]

2. fighting, such as boxing, at close quarters. [ PJC ]

3. rough-and-tumble, free-for-all fighting. [ PJC ]

v. t. 1. To exceed in fighting; fight more competently; as, He outfought his challengers; the boxer outfought his opponent for eight rounds but lost the bout in the ninth on a knockout. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. to defeat in a battle; as, The French forces outfought the Germans.
Syn. -- get the better of. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

An engagement between ships at sea; a naval battle. [ 1913 Webster ]

See accommodating.
See aching.
See ailing.
See aiming.
See alarming.
See altering.
See appreciating.
See approving.
See aspiring.
See assisting.
See attempting.
See attending.
See bearing.
See befitting.
See beginning.
See believing.
See bleaching.
See bleeding.
See blemishing.
See blenching.
See blossoming.
See blushing.
See boding.
See branching.
See breathing.
See burning.
See calculating.
See ceasing.
See changing.
See charming.
See communicating.
See complaining.
See complying.
See conceiving.
See conducing.
See confessing.
See conniving.
See consenting.
See considering.
See conspiring.
See consulting.
See consuming.
See contending.
See contriving.
See conversing.
See convincing.
See dawning.
See decaying.
See delaying.
See depending.
See derogating.
See deserving.
See desiring.
See despairing.
See detesting.
See deviating.
See differencing.
See discerning.
See discording.
See discriminating.
See disobliging.
See dispensing.
See dissembling.
See dissolving.
See distinguishing.
See distracting.
See disturbing.
See doubting.
See dreading.
See drooping.
See ebbing.
See echoing.
See edifying.
See ending.
See enduring.
See engaging.
See enjoying.
See entering.
See enterprising.
See entertaining.
See envying.
See existing.
See fadging.
See fading.
See fainting.
See faltering.
See fearing.
See feigning.
See fighting.
See fitting.
See flagging.
See flattering.
See flinching.
See folding.
See forbearing.
See foreboding.
See foreseeing.
See forgiving.
See giving.
See grudging.
See harming.
See heeding.
See hesitating.
See hoping.
See hurting.
See importing.
See imposing.
See improving.
See interesting.
See intermitting.
See intoxicating.
See inviting.
See jarring.
See laboring.
See lingering.
See listening.
See loving.
See meddling.
See meriting.
See mistrusting.
See moving.
See murmuring.
See obliging.
See observing.
See offending.
See opening.
See pardoning.
See paying.
See perceiving.
See performing.
See perishing.
See pitying.
See pleasing.
See possessing.
See preaching.
See prepossessing.
See presuming.
See pretending.
See prevailing.
See prevaricating.
See profiting.
See promising.
See proving.
See quailing.
See questioning.
See reasoning.
See recalling.
See reclining.
See recurring.
See referring.
See reflecting.
See refunding.
See refusing.
See rejoicing.
See relaxing.
See relishing.
See remembering.
See repenting.
See repining.
See reproving.
See repulsing.
See resisting.
See resolving.
See resting.
See returning.
See rewarding.
See sanctifying.
See satisfying.
See searching.
See seeing.
See setting.
See shrinking.
See sinking.
See sleeping.
See slipping.
See slumbering.
See speaking.
See stinting.
See stirring.
See stooping.
See submitting.
See sufficing.
See suiting.
See surging.
See suspecting.
See sweating.
See swerving.
See sympathizing.
See tasting.
See thriving.
See tiring.
See toiling.
See trading.
See trembling.
See trespassing.
See trifling.
See vacillating.
See varying.
See walking.
See wandering.
See waning.
See wasting.
See wavering.
See weeping.
See winking.
See winning.
See withdrawing.
See withering.
See wondering.
See working.
See writing.
See yielding.
----- and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

The above classes of words are unlimited in extent, and such compounds may be formed by any writer or speaker at will from almost all the adjectives or participles in the language, excepting those which have a recognized and usual negative correspondent with the prefix -in. No attempt will be made, therefore, to define them all in this Dictionary; many will be omitted from its Vocabulary which are negations of the simple word, and are readily explained by prefixing a not to the latter. Derivatives of these words in -ly and -ness will also, for the most part, be omitted for the same or similar reasons. [ 1913 Webster ]

There will be inserted as separate articles with definitions, the following: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Those which have acquired an opposed or contrary, instead of a merely negative, meaning; as, unfriendly, ungraceful, unpalatable, unquiet, and the like; or else an intensive sense more than a prefixed not would express; as, unending, unparalleled, undisciplined, undoubted, unsafe, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Those which have the value of independent words, inasmuch as the simple words are either not used at all, or are rarely, or at least much less frequently, used; as, unavoidable, unconscionable, undeniable, unspeakable, unprecedented, unruly, and the like; or inasmuch as they are used in a different sense from the usual meaning of the primitive, or especially in one of the significations of the latter; as, unaccountable, unalloyed, unbelieving, unpretending, unreserved, and the like; or inasmuch as they are so frequently and familiarly used that they are hardly felt to be of negative origin; as, uncertain, uneven, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Those which are anomalous, provincial, or, for some other reason, not desirable to be used, and are so indicated; as, unpure for impure, unsatisfaction for dissatisfaction, unexpressible for inexpressible, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

II. Un- is prefixed to nouns to express the absence of, or the contrary of, that which the noun signifies; as, unbelief, unfaith, unhealth, unrest, untruth, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Compounds of this last class are given in full in their proper order in the Vocabulary. [ 1913 Webster ]