battle : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: battle	by the DICT Development Group
6 results for battle
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
battle n a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war; "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement" Synonym(s): battle, conflict, fight, engagement an energetic attempt to achieve something; "getting through the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for recognition" Synonym(s): struggle, battle an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals); "the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"-- Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs" Synonym(s): conflict, struggle, battle v battle or contend against in or as if in a battle; "The Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Northern Iraq"; "We must combat the prejudices against other races"; "they battled over the budget" Synonym(s): battle, combat
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Drawn \Drawn\, p. p. & a. See {Draw}, v. t. & i. {Drawn butter}, butter melter and prepared to be used as a sort of gravy. {Drawn fowl}, an eviscerated fowl. {Drawn game} [or] {battle}, one in which neither party wins; one equally contested. {Drawn fox}, one driven from cover. --Shak. {Drawn work}, ornamental work made by drawing out threads from fine cloth, and uniting the cross threads, to form a pattern.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\, a. Fertile. See {Battel}, a. [Obs.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\ (b[acr]t"t'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Battled} (-tl'd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Battling}.] [F. batailler, fr. bataille. See {Battle}, n.] To join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over theories. To meet in arms, and battle in the plain. --Prior.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\, n. [OE. bataille, bataile, F. bataille battle, OF., battle, battalion, fr. L. battalia, battualia, the fighting and fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators, fr. batuere to strike, beat. Cf. {Battalia}, 1st {Battel}, and see {Batter}, v. t. ] 1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat. 2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life. The whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem of the best poet of that day. --H. Morley. 3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.] The king divided his army into three battles. --Bacon. The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every action. --Robertson. 4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia. [Obs.] --Hayward. Note: Battle is used adjectively or as the first part of a self-explaining compound; as, battle brand, a [bd]brand[b8] or sword used in battle; battle cry; battlefield; battle ground; battlearray; battle song. {Battle piece}, a painting, or a musical composition, representing a battle. {Battle royal}. (a) A fight between several gamecocks, where the one that stands longest is the victor. --Grose. (b) A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two are engaged; a m[88]l[82]e. --Thackeray. {Drawn battle}, one in which neither party gains the victory. {To give battle}, to attack an enemy. {To join battle}, to meet the attack; to engage in battle. {Pitched battle}, one in which the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the forces. {Wager of battle}. See under {Wager}, n. Syn: Conflict; encounter; contest; action. Usage: {Battle}, {Combat}, {Fight}, {Engagement}. These words agree in denoting a close encounter between contending parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied to the encounter of a few individuals, and more commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight. A combat is a close encounter, whether between few or many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or intermingled in the conflict.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\, v. t. To assail in battle; to fight.