| 释义 |
com·bat
I. \kəmˈbat, ˈkämˌbat sometimes ˈkəmˌbat or kämˈbat or ˈkəmbət; Brit usually & US sometimes ˈkämbət; usu -d.+V\ verb
(combated or combatted ; combated or combatted ; combating or combatting ; combats)
Etymology: Middle French combattre, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin combattere, from Latin com- + -battere (from battuere to beat) — more at bat
intransitive verb
: struggle, contend, fight
< combat fiercely with an enemy >
< nations combat to make one submit — Lord Byron >
< fiercely combated with death — Amy Lowell >
transitive verb
1. : to fight with : battle
2. : to struggle against or oppose especially by argument
< there was nobody to combat that royal will — Edith Sitwell >
: work against : strive to reduce or eliminate
< combat malnutrition and disease >
< combat inflation >
Synonyms: see contest I
II. \ˈkämˌbat sometimes ˈkəm-; Brit usually & US sometimes -_bət; usu -d.+V\ noun
(-s)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French, from combattre, v.
1. : a fight, encounter, or contest between individuals or groups
< furious combat of antlered stags >
: duel; specifically : an engagement between contending armed forces especially when of lesser extent than a battle
2. : conflict, struggle, controversy
< two years of almost continuous parliamentary combat — F.L.Paxson >
< such strenuous combats as the humanist-naturalist or the aesthetic-sociological controversies — F.B.Millett >
3. : actual fighting engagement of military forces as distinguished from other military duties or periods of active service without fighting : action
Synonyms: see contest II |