TOP

Definition of combat noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

combat

noun
 
 
/ˈkɒmbæt/
 
/ˈkɑːmbæt/
[uncountable, countable]
jump to other results
  1. fighting or a fight, especially during a time of war
    • in combat He was killed in combat.
    • armed/unarmed combat (= with/without weapons)
    • combat troops
    • combat boots
    • aerial combat
    • Knightly combats were only a very small part of medieval warfare.
    see also single combat
    Extra Examples
    • Our platoon has yet to see combat.
    • The soldiers are in combat with rebel forces.
    • The troops were locked in hand-to-hand combat.
    • a fierce combat between two champions
    • in mortal combat against dragons
    • Hardly any enemy combat aircraft have been destroyed.
    Topics War and conflictc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • fierce
    • intense
    • mortal
    • …
    verb + combat
    • be engaged in
    • be locked in
    • engage in
    • …
    combat + noun
    • mission
    • operation
    • zone
    • …
    preposition
    • in combat
    • in combat with
    • combat against
    • …
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 16th cent. (originally denoting a fight between two people or parties): from French combattre (verb), from late Latin combattere, from com- ‘together with’ + battere, variant of Latin batuere ‘to fight’.
See combat in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee combat in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: combat

Nearby words

alloy
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Physics and chemistry
C2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day