combat
Americanverb (used with object)
-
combats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combated,
past participle, past
-
combatted,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
combating,
present participle
-
combatting
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
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combats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combated,
past participle, past
-
combatted,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
combating,
present participle
-
combatting
present participle (especially British)
noun
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combats
plural
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Military. active, armed fighting with enemy forces.
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a fight, struggle, or controversy, as between two persons, teams, or ideas.
noun
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a fight, conflict, or struggle
-
-
an action fought between two military forces
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( as modifier )
a combat jacket
-
-
a fight between two individuals; duel
-
fighting at close quarters
verb
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(tr) to fight or defy
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(intr; often foll by with or against) to struggle or strive (against); be in conflict (with)
to combat against disease
Usage
What does combat mean? Combat is most commonly used in a military context to refer to active fighting among opposing armies. To engage in combat is to engage in fighting. This kind of combat most commonly takes place on a battlefield or warzone on the ground (called a combat zone). Aerial combat involves fighting in the air among air forces. Hand-to-hand combat involves close fighting, often literally with one’s hands. Combat is often used as a modifier (adjective) in terms that refer to things related to or involving combat, such as combat training, combat medic, combat fatigue, and combat boots. Combat is sometimes used more broadly or figuratively to refer to active conflict between two people or groups, as in The two corporations are preparing to do combat in the courtroom. The term verbal combat refers to fighting with words. Combat is also commonly used as a verb meaning to oppose or work to defeat. It’s especially used when the thing to be defeated is intangible or abstract, as in We need to combat climate change or Our organization works to combat poverty. The figurative senses of the verbs fight and battle are close synonyms of this sense of combat. The sides engaging in combat can be called combatants. The adjective combative means inclined to fight. Example: The objective of basic training is to prepare our soldiers for combat.
Synonym Usage
See fight
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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combaternoun
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intercombatnoun
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precombatnoun
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combatableadjective
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self-combatingadjective
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uncombatableadjective
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uncombatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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combatsimple
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combatssimple
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have combatedperfect
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have combattedperfect
-
has combatedperfect
-
has combattedperfect
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am combatingprogressive
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am combattingprogressive
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are combatingprogressive
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are combattingprogressive
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is combatingprogressive
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is combattingprogressive
-
have been combatingperfect progressive
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have been combattingperfect progressive
-
has been combatingperfect progressive
-
has been combattingperfect progressive
Past
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combatedsimple
-
combattedsimple
-
had combatedperfect
-
had combattedperfect
-
was combatingprogressive
-
was combattingprogressive
-
were combatingprogressive
-
were combattingprogressive
-
had been combatingperfect progressive
-
had been combattingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of combat
First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French combat (noun), combattre (verb), from Late Latin combattere, from Latin com- com- + Late Latin battere, from Latin battuere “to strike, beat”
Explanation
Combat is fighting between two groups of armed forces. When you engage in combat, typically this means you engage in fighting that involves weapons. Combat comes from the Latin com- meaning "together with" and battere meaning "to fight." Combat can be used as a modifier; for example, a combat zone is an area where fighting is taking place. The word combat can also be used to refer to the action of fighting against something to prevent it. An after-school program for kids is working to combat the issue of street violence by creating a safe space where kids can go as an alternative.
Vocabulary lists containing combat
Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Memorial Day: Words of Respect and Remembrance
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The five unions have combined forces across the public and private sector, with demands for higher wages to combat the cost of living and protected public services.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The deployment of 2,500 Salvadoran troops in lawless Haiti could raise the risk of an urban combat quagmire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
With a high-tech and defense-tech power like Israel, which has a habit of learning from its combat experience and improving U.S. systems, there’s a strong national-interest case for U.S. military aid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed California’s first stand-alone post-production credit to combat the decline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
When the regiment was flying combat missions, the armorers had to service the aircraft two or three times every day.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
The policy, which comes into effect in September, "combats rampant visa abuse, and strengthens national security through regular vetting", the Department of Homeland Security said.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The company combats these techniques with technology that detects anomalies, such as spotting the same pay stubs being submitted to different lenders by more than one loan applicant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Even as her unsinkable, emotionally complicated boss combats Ava’s efforts to elevate the show at every turn, Ava’s maturation stands out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025
Nrf2 combats this toxic stress in brain cells, helping to stave off disease.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
Japanese warfare had previously involved single combats between samurai swordsmen, who stood in the open, made ritual speeches, and then took pride in fighting gracefully.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Experts say the refurbished phone was likely loaded with spyware, and that she could have combated this by restoring factory settings before setting it up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Tom Dreesen, the veteran stand-up comedian who toured with Frank Sinatra, combated civil rights-era racial tension with comedy, and championed pay for fellow Comedy Store acts, has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Google has also combated the idea that AI will kill its Search business by developing AI Overviews and AI Search.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 12, 2025
"The US government is showing the way forward; something that is long overdue in Germany. All forms of extremism must be combated, and all terrorist organisations must be fought and banned."
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
In fact, the cyclotron had been working perfectly well with beams far more defocused by imperfections in the magnetic field—those bothersome irregularities combated by shimming—than they would be by the relativistic effects that Bethe posited.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The freight company has combatted a weak shipping economy by controlling costs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
Even in industries that have long combatted workers' attempts to organize, like food service, workers have seen ongoing progress towards unionization and scored big political wins, like the creation of California's fast food labor council.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2023
If you find an egg mass on a tree that you can scrape off, you’re making a bigger impact, but realistically the only way the infestation can be combatted is on an industrial scale.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2022
Experts also blame the worsening fire situation on a 2007 decision to disband a federal aviation network that spotted and combatted wildfires.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2021
They could not be combatted when he first returned.
From Astounding Stories of Super-Science, December 1930 by Various
In her first statement, Stewart told Page Six that she has been committed to combating homelessness via charity and will continue to work toward making a difference.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Such therapies could potentially target harmful bacteria responsible for human infections, providing a new approach to combating bacterial disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
“Netanyahu’s response reflects a theme he has been campaigning on, namely combating Palestinian terror,” said Michael Koplow, policy director of the Israel Policy Forum, a U.S. think tank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
But researchers have repeatedly questioned its effectiveness in combating misinformation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
I put in long hours at Sidley & Austin, often eating both lunch and dinner at my desk while combating a continuous flow of documents, all of them written in precise and decorous lawyer-language.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Like rivals, it’s also combatting a ferociously competitive Chinese market.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
But if America wants secure aluminum supply chains, combatting unfair trade is necessary but not sufficient.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Automatic license plate readers like Flock cameras were by far the top choice for combatting catalytic converter theft, beating out overtime for investigators and additional training.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
At the same time as he is strengthening Flock's safeguards, he is pitching his company's products as crucial to combatting crime and improving policing in the US.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
She claimed to be an expert in combatting cold weather and in avoiding head colds.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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