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battle

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battle¹

  • /ˈbætl̩/ UK
  • [ˈbatʰɫ̩] UK
  • /ˈbætl̩/ US
  • [ˈbæɾɫ̩] US
  • [bætɫ̩] US

Rhymes with -ætəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin battālia, variant of battuālia (“fighting and fencing exercises”) from Latin battuō (“to strike, hit, beat, fight”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from a Gaulish or Proto-Germanic root from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to stab, dig”), related to Old English beado (“battle”); or possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Doublet of battalia and battel. Displaced native Old English ġefeoht, beado, camp, and wīg (“battle”), among others.

noun battles · batail · battel · battell

  1. A contest, a struggle. the battle of life
  2. A one-on-one competition in rapping or breakdance.
  3. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.

    Similar: field

  4. archaic A division of an army; a battalion. Thenne kyng Arthur made redy his hooſt in x batails and Nero was redy in the felde afore the caſtel Tarabil with a grete hooſt / & he had x batails with many mo peple than Arthur had […]
  5. obsolete The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia. Iohn Duke of Norfolke, Thomas Earle of Surrey, Shall haue the leading of the Foot and Horſe. They thus directed, we will fllow ^([sic]) In the maine Battell, whose puiſſance on either ſide Shall be well-winged with our cheefeſt Horſe: This, and Saint George to boote.
  6. abbreviation, clipping Clipping of battle buddy

verb battles · battling · battled · batail · battel

  1. intransitive To join in battle; to contend in fight Scientists always battle over theories.
  2. transitive To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with. She has been battling cancer for years.

battle²

  • /ˈbætl̩/ UK
  • [ˈbatʰɫ̩] UK
  • /ˈbætl̩/ US
  • [ˈbæɾɫ̩] US
  • [bætɫ̩] US

Rhymes with -ætəl

Where it comes from

From Early Modern English batell, probably from Middle English *batel (“flourishing”), from Old English *batol (“improving, tending to be good”), from batian (“to get better, improve”) + -ol ( + -le).

adjective more battle · most battle · battil · battill · battel · baittle

  1. Of grass or pasture: nutritious to cattle or sheep; fattening, nourishing. battle grass    battle pasture

    Similar: batten, improving

  2. broadly Of land (originally pastureland) or soil: fertile, fruitful. battle land    battle soil

    Similar: batten

verb battles · battling · battled · battil · battill

  1. Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive To feed or nourish (someone or something).
  2. Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive To render (land, soil, etc.) fertile or fruitful. To Devonſhire or Denſhire land. That is, to pare off the ſurface or top turf thereof, and to lay it upon heaps and burn it; vvhich aſhes are a marvelous improvement to battle barren land, by reaſon of the fixt ſalt vvhich they contain.

Battle³

  • /ˈbætəɫ/ UK

Where it comes from

Capitalization of battle. Doublet of Battaglia.

proper noun

  1. A habitational surname from Middle English from places in England that have been sites of a battle.
  2. A town and civil parish with a town council in Rother district, East Sussex, England; supposed site of the Battle of Hastings (OS grid ref TQ7416).
  3. A hamlet in Yscir community, Powys, Wales (OS grid ref SO0131).
  4. A river in Saskatchewan, Canada: see Battle River.
  5. historical A ghost town in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: fight, conflict, combat, struggle, engagement, attack, combating, assault, infighting, confrontation, scramble, competition, fighter, challenge, contention, quarrel

Translations

Every language

noun struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life

日本語戦い tatakai
हिन्दीसंघर्ष saṅgharṣ
Portuguêsluta
Françaislutte
DeutschKampf
Italianolotta
Ελληνικάμάχη máchi, αγώνας agónas
Русскийборьба́ borʹbá
עבריתמַאֲבָק ma'avák

noun general action, fight, or encounter; a combat

Españolbatalla, lucha
한국어전쟁 jeonjaeng, 전투 jeontu, 싸움 ssaum, 교전 gyojeon
日本語戦い tatakai, 戦 ikusa, 争い arasoi, 戦闘 sentō
中文戰役 /战役 zhànyì, 戰鬥 /战斗 zhàndòu, 爭鬥 /争斗 zhēngdòu
हिन्दीलड़ाई laṛāī, जंग jaṅg, संग्राम saṅgrām, समर samar, रण raṇ
Kiswahilivita
Portuguêsbatalha
Françaislutte, bataille
DeutschSchlacht, Kampf, Gefecht
Italianobattaglia, pugna
Ελληνικάμάχη máchi
Românăbătălie
Русскийби́тва bítva, бой boj, сраже́ние sražénije, бата́лия batálija
Tiếng Việttrận đánh
العربيةمَعْرَكَة maʕraka
עבריתקְרָב krav, מַאֲבָק ma'avák

noun (obsolete) a division of an army; a battalion

中文鬥爭 /斗争 dòuzhēng

verb (transitive) to assail in battle; to fight

Españolbatallar contra
Deutschbekämpfen, bekriegen
Ελληνικάμάχομαι máchomai

verb (intransitive) to join in battle; to contend in fight

Españolluchar, batallar
한국어싸우다 ssauda, 전쟁하다 jeonjaenghada
日本語戦う tatakau, 争う arasou
Portuguêsbatalhar
Françaislutter
Deutschkämpfen
Italianobattagliare
Русскийсража́ться sražátʹsja, срази́ться srazítʹsja, би́ться bítʹsja, боро́ться borótʹsja

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MLA

"battle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/battle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

battle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/battle

Chicago

"battle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/battle.

BibTeX
@misc{battle_2026,
  title = {battle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/battle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}