- fight
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 struggle using physical forceADJECTIVE▪ big▪ fierce▪ brutal, nasty, vicious▪ real▪
Suddenly the argument developed into a real fight.
▪ good▪There's nothing he likes so much as a good fight.
▪ clean, fair▪It was a fair fight and Stephen won.
▪ close▪ running▪He was killed during a series of running fights outside a disco.
▪ stand-up, straight▪In a straight fight the army usually won.
▪ bar (AmE), pub (BrE), street▪ gang▪ fist, knife, sword▪ food, pillow, snowball, water▪ championship, title▪the world title fight between Tyson and Lewis
▪ professional▪ heavyweight, etc.▪ bull (usually bullfight), cock, dog▪ boss (in computer games)VERB + FIGHT▪ pick, start▪He tried to pick a fight with me.
▪I don't know who started the fight.
▪ be asking for (esp. AmE), be looking for, be spoiling for, want▪Andy was drunk and spoiling for a fight.
▪ be in, get into, get involved in, have▪Don't get into any more fights!
▪ break up, stop▪The fight was broken up by a teacher.
▪ win▪ lose▪ see, watchFIGHT + VERB▪ take place▪The dog fights took place every Sunday morning.
▪ break out, erupt, start▪ ensue▪A fight ensued which left one man dead.
FIGHT + NOUN▪ scene, sequence▪ club (esp. AmE)▪ fanPREPOSITION▪ in a/the fight▪He killed a man in a fight.
▪ fight about, fight over▪They nearly had a fight over who should move first.
▪ fight between▪fights between hostile clans
▪ fight with▪They got involved in a fight with some older boys.
2 trying to get/do sthADJECTIVE▪ brave, good, strong▪She died at the age of 43 after a brave fight against cancer.
▪ hard, long, real, tough, uphill (AmE)▪a long fight to beat inflation
▪ bitter, desperate▪ legal▪ custody (esp. AmE)VERB + FIGHT▪ put up▪Coal workers are determined to put up a fight to save their jobs.
▪ lead, spearhead (esp. BrE)▪lawyers leading the fight for compensation for the injured workers
▪ join, join in▪Doctors have now joined in the fight to make this treatment available to all.
▪ face▪Now he is facing his toughest fight yet—back to fitness after a series of injuries.
▪ be engaged in▪He is still engaged in a bitter fight with his old company.
▪ carry on, continue, keep up▪She said they would continue their fight to find a cure for AIDS.
▪ step up▪The government has vowed to step up the fight against crime.
▪ take▪She vowed to take her fight to the High Court.
▪ win▪ lose▪Are we losing the fight against illegal drugs?
▪ give up▪She just gave up her fight for life.
FIGHT + VERB▪ be on▪The fight is on to have this brutal practice stamped out.
▪ continue, go on▪The fight for justice goes on.
PREPOSITION▪ without a fight▪I'm not giving up without a fight!
▪ fight against, fight with (AmE)▪a new weapon in the fight against car crime
▪his fight with cancer
▪ fight for▪their fight for a fair deal
PHRASES▪ a fight for life, a fight for survival▪the company's desperate fight for survival in a cut-throat market
▪ have a fight on your hands▪Union leaders know that they have a real fight on their hands.
3 competitionADJECTIVE▪ brave, good, great, strong, tremendous▪ straightVERB + FIGHT▪ put up▪The team put up a good fight (= they played well) but were finally beaten.
FIGHT + VERB▪ be onPREPOSITION▪ fight between▪This will be a straight fight between the two parties.
▪ fight for▪The fight for supremacy in the sport is on.
PHRASES▪ a fight to the death (figurative)▪By 1807 politics had become a fight to the death between the two factions.
▪ a fight to the finish▪If the polls are wrong and it's a fight to the finish, the result may not be known until all the votes have been counted.
▪ have a fight on your hands▪She now has a fight on her hands (= will have to play very well) to make it through to the next round.
▪ make a fight of it▪No doubt Ferguson wants his team to make a fight of it.
4 (esp. AmE) argumentADJECTIVE▪ big, huge, terrible▪ petty, stupid▪ littleVERB + FIGHT▪ have▪ cause▪ get into, pick, provoke, start{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verb1 in a war/battleADVERB▪ bravely, gallantly, valiantly▪ bitterly, fiercely, hard▪ effectively▪ back, offVERB + FIGHT▪ be prepared to, be ready to▪He did not believe that the enemy was ready to fight.
▪ continue toPREPOSITION▪ against▪They fought bravely against the enemy.
▪ alongside▪He fought alongside his comrades.
▪ for▪They fought for control of the island.
▪ over▪They were fighting over disputed land.
▪ with▪He taught me how to fight with a sword.
PHRASES▪ fight to the death▪The soldiers were prepared to fight to the death if they had to.
2 struggle against/hit sbADVERB▪ bitterly, hard▪ dirty▪ back, off▪He was stabbed as he tried to fight the robbers off.
VERB + FIGHT▪ be prepared toPREPOSITION▪ against▪She fought hard against his strong grip.
▪ with▪Riot police fought with militants demonstrating in support of the uprising.
3 in a contestADVERB▪ bitterly, hard▪ successfullyVERB + FIGHT▪ be determined to, be prepared to, be ready to▪We need a good manager who is prepared to fight for a fair share of the funds.
▪ continue toPREPOSITION▪ for▪Regional monopolies were bitterly fought for.
PHRASES▪ fiercely fought▪The second half was fiercely fought, but neither side managed to score.
4 try to stop/achieve sthADVERB▪ hard, like a tiger, tooth and nail (= in a very determined way)▪He fought hard to overcome his disability.
▪She'll fight like a tiger to protect her children.
▪The residents are fighting tooth and nail to stop the new development.
▪ doggedly, stubbornly, tenaciously▪ desperately▪ successfully▪ back▪It is time to fight back against street crime.
VERB + FIGHT▪ be determined to, be prepared to, be ready to, vow to▪ continue to▪ help (to)PREPOSITION▪ against▪They are committed to fighting against racism.
▪ for▪We are fighting for equal rights.
5 argueADVERB▪ bitterly▪ constantlyPREPOSITION▪ about▪It's a trivial matter and not worth fighting about.
▪ over▪Children will fight even over small things.
▪ with▪He's always fighting with his brother.
PHRASES▪ fight like cat and dog (BrE), fight like cats and dogs (AmE)Fight is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑army, ↑firefighter, ↑hero, ↑military, ↑protester, ↑rebel, ↑soldier, ↑troops, ↑veteran, ↑warriorFight is used with these nouns as the object: ↑AIDS, ↑army, ↑bacteria, ↑battle, ↑blaze, ↑campaign, ↑cancer, ↑communism, ↑corruption, ↑crime, ↑demon, ↑discrimination, ↑disease, ↑election, ↑emotion, ↑enemy, ↑epidemic, ↑evil, ↑extradition, ↑fatigue, ↑feeling, ↑fire, ↑flame, ↑foe, ↑force, ↑grin, ↑HIV, ↑illness, ↑impulse, ↑infection, ↑inflation, ↑injustice, ↑instinct, ↑menace, ↑monster, ↑occupation, ↑opponent, ↑oppression, ↑plan, ↑pollution, ↑poverty, ↑prejudice, ↑racism, ↑rebel, ↑recession, ↑revolution, ↑seat, ↑sexism, ↑system, ↑temptation, ↑terror, ↑terrorism, ↑tyranny, ↑urge, ↑virus, ↑war, ↑way
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
