combat
//ˈkɒmˌbæt//
Forms
- Plural
- combats
- present (v1)
- combat
- past (v2)
- combated
- past participle (v3)
- combated
- present participle
- combating
- 3rd person singular
- combats
Definitions
1.A battle, a fight (often one in which weapons are used).
- Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.
2.a struggle for victory
1.To fight; to struggle against.
- It has proven very difficult to combat drug addiction.
2.To fight (with); to struggle for victory (against).
- To combat with a blind man I disdain.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3756
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
16th century, borrowed from Middle French combat, deverbal from Old French combatre
From Vulgar Latin *combattere
From Latin com- (“with”) + battuere (“to beat, strike”).