fight

My grandfather fought the Nazis in World War II.

(transitive) To engage in combat with; to oppose physically, to contest with.

Our soldiers fought the battle just over that hill.

I have fought a good fight.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Timothy 4:7:

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 6:12:

His Suff’rings ſhine, and ſpread a Glory round him;
Greatly unfortunate, he fights the Cauſe
Of Honour, Virtue, Liberty, and Rome.

1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:

was left to fight his way through the world.

1856 December, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Samuel Johnson”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC:

(transitive) To conduct or engage in (battle, warfare, a cause, etc.).

A wounded animal will fight tooth and nail; relentless, savage and murderous.

(intransitive) To contend in physical conflict, either singly or in war, battle etc.

The two boxers have been fighting for more than half an hour.

(reciprocal) To contend in physical conflict with each other, either singly or in war, battle etc.

And so we made their grave where they should lie
Close side by side, as they had fought their tank
Through every fight, arm touching arm.
We made it deep, that nothing of the conflict they had left above
Should break into their peace.

1953, Revd. Waldo E. L. Smith, What Time the Tempest: An Army Chaplain's Story, page 244:

to fight cocks; to fight one’s ship

(causative) To cause to fight; to manage or manoeuvre in a fight.

He fought for the Democrats in the last election.

Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern. Then, for a jiffy, I hung on and fought for breath.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

[Edmund] Burke continued to fight for liberty later on in life. He backed Americans in their campaign for freedom from British taxation. He supported Catholic freedoms and freer trade with Ireland, in spite of his constituents’ ire. He wanted more liberal laws on the punishment of debtors.

2014 July 5, “Freedom fighter”, in The Economist, volume 412, number 8894:

(intransitive) To strive for something; to campaign or contend for success.

The government pledged to fight corruption.

I fought a sneeze as Max took my hand and led me into the chapel.

2014, Ann Aguirre, The Shape of My Heart, page 42:

(transitive) To try to overpower; to fiercely counteract.

The higher the saturation, the more the colors fight, and the more users will be looking at your design instead of your content.

2013, Ian G. Clifton, Android User Interface Design:

(intransitive) Of colours or other design elements: to clash; to fail to harmonize.

en-verb

fight (third-person singular simple present fights, present participle fighting, simple past fought, past participle fought or (archaic) foughten)

fights (present singular third-person)
fighting (participle present)
fought (past)
fought (participle past)
foughten (archaic participle past)
fight (infinitive)

Sranan Tongo: feti

stryd

(intransitive) to contend in physical conflict

تَعَارَكَ

(reciprocal) to contend in physical conflict with each other

сражавам се

(transitive) to engage in (a physical conflict)

عَارَكَ

(transitive) to contend in physical conflict against

From Middle English fighten, from Old English feohtan (“to fight, combat, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan, from Proto-Germanic *fehtaną (“to comb, tease, shear, struggle with”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to comb, shear”).
Cognate with Scots fecht (“to fight”), West Frisian fjochtsje, fjuchte (“to fight”), Dutch vechten (“to fight”), Low German fechten (“to fight”), German fechten (“to fight, fence”), Swedish fäkta (“to fence, to fight (using blade weapons), to wave vigorously (and carelessly) with one's arms”), Latin pectō (“comb, thrash”, verb), Albanian pjek (“to hit, strive, fight”), Ancient Greek πέκω (pékō, “comb or card wool”, verb). Related also to Old English feht (“wool, shaggy pelt, fleece”).


fight

One of them got stuck in a chokehold and got stabbed to death during the fight.

(archaic) A battle between opposing armies.

Watch your language! Are you looking for a fight?

A physical confrontation or combat between two or more people or groups.

I’m going to Nick’s to watch the big fight tomorrow night.

(sports) A boxing or martial arts match.

I’ll put up a fight to save this company.

‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 18, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

As the world's drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs.

2013 August 10, “A new prescription”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

A conflict, possibly nonphysical, with opposing ideas or forces; strife.

That little guy has a bit of fight in him after all. As soon as he saw the size of his opponent, all the fight went out of him.

(uncountable) The will or ability to fight.

Who ever ſaw a noble ſight, / That never view'd a brave Sea Fight: / Hang up your bloody Colours in the Aire, / Up with your Fights, and your Nettings prepare, / Your Merry Mates chear, with a luſty bold ſpright, / Now each Man his brindice, and then to the Fight, […]

1673 May (first performance), John Dryden, Amboyna. A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1673, →OCLC, Act III, page 31:

(obsolete) A screen for the combatants in ships; an arming.

en-noun

fight (countable and uncountable, plural fights)

couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery

Sranan Tongo: feti
→ Dutch: fittie

→ Japanese: ファイト (faito)

From Middle English fight, feyght, fiȝt, fecht, from Old English feoht, ġefeoht, from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan, from Proto-Germanic *fehtą, *gafehtą (“fight, struggle”), from Proto-Germanic *fehtaną (“to struggle with”). Cognate with Dutch gevecht, German Gefecht.