gunfight, gunplay, shootout - a fight involving shooting small arms with the intent to kill or frighten

conflict, 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"

encounter, skirmish, clash, brush - a minor short-term fight

dogfight - a violent fight between dogs (sometimes organized illegally for entertainment and gambling)

fencing - the art or sport of fighting with swords (especially the use of foils or epees or sabres to score points under a set of rules)

in-fighting - conflict between members of the same organization (usually concealed from outsiders)

set-to - a brief but vigorous fight

shock, impact - the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat; "the armies met in the shock of battle"

dogfingt, rough-and-tumble, scuffle, tussle, hassle - disorderly fighting

affaire d'honneur, duel - a prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor

blow - a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon; "a blow on the head"

fistfight, fisticuffs, slugfest - a fight with bare fists

battering, banging - the act of subjecting to strong attack

beating, whipping - the act of overcoming or outdoing

fray, affray, ruffle, disturbance - a noisy fight

free-for-all, brawl - a noisy fight in a crowd

cut-and-thrust, knife fight, snickersnee - fighting with knives

gang fight, rumble - a fight between rival gangs of adolescents

contestation, controversy, disceptation, arguing, argument, contention, disputation, tilt - a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement; "they were involved in a violent argument"

boxing, pugilism, fisticuffs - fighting with the fists

military action, action - a military engagement; "he saw action in Korea"

Armageddon - any catastrophically destructive battle; "they called the first World War an Armageddon"

pitched battle - a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place

naval battle - a pitched battle between naval fleets

armed combat, combat - an engagement fought between two military forces

war, warfare - the waging of armed conflict against an enemy; "thousands of people were killed in the war"

dogfight - an aerial engagement between fighter planes

assault - close fighting during the culmination of a military attack

Battle of Britain - the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it

Drogheda - in 1649 the place was captured by Oliver Cromwell, who massacred the Catholic inhabitants

armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"

aggressiveness - the quality of being bold and enterprising

bear down - exert full strength; "The pitcher bore down"

fistfight - fight with the fists; "The man wanted to fist-fight"

join battle - engage in a conflict; "The battle over health care reform was joined"

tug - struggle in opposition; "She tugged and wrestled with her conflicts"

fight down, oppose, fight, fight back, defend - fight against or resist strongly; "The senator said he would oppose the bill"; "Don't fight it!"

get back, settle - get one's revenge for a wrong or an injury; "I finally settled with my old enemy"

fight back - defend oneself

battle, combat - battle or contend against in or as if in a battle; "The Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Nothern Iraq"; "We must combat the prejudices against other races"; "they battled over the budget"

war - make or wage war

attack, assail - launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week"

duel - fight a duel, as over one's honor or a woman; "In the 19th century, men often dueled over small matters"

joust - joust against somebody in a tournament by fighting on horseback

chicken-fight, chickenfight - fight while sitting on somebody's shoulders

tourney - engage in a tourney

feud - carry out a feud; "The two professors have been feuding for years"

skirmish - engage in a skirmish

bandy - exchange blows

fence - fight with fencing swords

box - engage in a boxing match

spar - fight with spurs; "the gamecocks were sparring"

tussle, scuffle - fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters; "the drunken men started to scuffle"

wrestle - engage in a wrestling match; "The children wrestled in the garden"

wage, engage - as of wars, battles, or campaigns; "Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe"

drive back, fight off, repulse, rebuff, repel - force or drive back; "repel the attacker"; "fight off the onslaught"; "rebuff the attack"

fight, struggle - be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight; "the tribesmen fought each other"; "Siblings are always fighting"

recalcitrate - show strong objection or repugnance; manifest vigorous opposition or resistance; be obstinately disobedient; "The Democratic senators recalcitrated against every proposal from the Republican side"

fend, resist, stand - withstand the force of something; "The trees resisted her"; "stand the test of time"; "The mountain climbers had to fend against the ice and snow"

stand firm, withstand, hold out, resist - stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something

drive back, fight off, repulse, rebuff, repel - force or drive back; "repel the attacker"; "fight off the onslaught"; "rebuff the attack"

labor, labour, tug, push, drive - strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis"

flounder - behave awkwardly; have difficulties; "She is floundering in college"

attempt, essay, try, assay, seek - make an effort or attempt; "He tried to shake off his fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world"

advertize, advertise, promote, push - make publicity for; try to sell (a product); "The salesman is aggressively pushing the new computer model"; "The company is heavily advertizing their new laptops"

advertize, advertise, promote, push - make publicity for; try to sell (a product); "The salesman is aggressively pushing the new computer model"; "The company is heavily advertizing their new laptops"