battle

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun An encounter between opposing forces.
• noun Armed fighting; combat.
• noun A match between two combatants.
• noun A protracted controversy or struggle.
• noun An intense competition.
• intransitive verb To engage in or as if in battle.
• intransitive verb To fight against.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To beat (clothes) with a battler or beetle in washing.
• To nourish; feed.
• To render fertile or fruitful, as the soil.
• To grow fat; thrive.
• To become fertile or fruitful, as soil.
• To furnish or strengthen with battlements; embattle.
• noun A fight, hostile encounter, or engagement between opposing forces on land or sea; an important and systematic engagement between independent armies or fleets.
• noun An encounter between two persons; a duel or single combat.
• noun A fight or encounter between animals, especially when pitted against each other for the amusement of spectators.
• noun Warfare; hostile action; actual conflict with enemies: as, wounds received or honors gained in battle.
• noun Any contest or conflict; struggle for mastery or victory: as, the battle of life.
• noun An army prepared for or engaged in fight.
• noun A body of forces, or division of an army; a battalion.
• noun More specifically— The main or middle body of an army or fleet, as distinguished from the van and rear.
• noun That portion of the army, wherever placed and of whatever consisting, which is regarded as of main importance.
• noun A formidable array similar to an army in battle order.
• noun A fight of game-cocks, in which more than two are engaged.
• noun Synonyms Battle, Engagement, Conflict, Fight, Combat, Contest, Action. Battle is a general term, and the most common. It is the appropriate word for great engagements: as, the battle of Waterloo. A battle may last merely a few hours or for days: as, the battle of Gettysburg lasted three days. Engagement is in technical military usage practically equivalent to battle, but it is a less forcible word. Conflict, literally, a clashing together, is a strong word, implying fierce physical encounter. Fight has the energy of a monosyllable; it denotes actual conflict. A man may take part in a battle without actually fighting. A battle may include many fights: as, the fight at the flag-staff in the battle of the Alma; or it may itself be described as a fight. Combat, like conflict, is a word of more dignity than fight; it is by its history suggestive of a struggle between two, as persons, animals, squadrons, armies. Contest is a very general word, of uncertain strength, but often joined with a strong adjective: as, a stubborn contest. An action is a minor or incidental act of war, a single act of fighting: as, the whole action lasted but an hour. All these words apply equally to operations by land or by sea. See encounter and strife.
• To join or engage in battle; contend in fight; fight: as, to battle with wolves.
• To struggle; contend; strive for mastery: either absolutely or with for, with, or against: as, to battle with the winds; to battle for freedom, or against adversity; to battle with ignorance.
• To embattle; put into battle array.
• To fight for.
• To give battle to; fight against; contend with; fight.
• In agriculture: Improving; nutritious; fattening: as, battle grass; battle pasture. Fertile; fruitful: as, battle soil; battle land.
• See battel.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• intransitive verb To join in battle; to contend in fight.
• adjective obsolete Fertile. See battel, a.
• transitive verb To assail in battle; to fight.
• noun A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat.
• noun A struggle; a contest.
• noun obsolete A division of an army; a battalion.
• noun obsolete The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia.
• noun a painting, or a musical composition, representing a battle.
• noun A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two are engaged; a mêlée.
• noun one in which neither party gains the victory.
• noun to attack an enemy.
• noun to meet the attack; to engage in battle.
• noun one in which the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the forces.
• noun See under Wager, n.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• adjective Northern England (agriculture) Improving; nutritious; fattening.
• adjective Northern England Fertile; fruitful.