combat

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablemilitary

   Fighting between armed forces, or between people, especially in war.

   Grammar: No article in general use: troops in combat; also used before another noun: combat boots.

   Patterns

   • in combat
   • combat between someone

   The soldiers had never seen combat.

   Hand-to-hand combat is part of the training.

   He was injured in combat last year.

2. 2verbtransitive

   To fight or work hard against something harmful so as to stop or reduce it.

   Grammar: Takes an object: combat crime, combat disease.

   Patterns

   • combat something

   The city launched a plan to combat air pollution.

   Vaccines help combat the spread of the disease.

   Schools are working to combat bullying.

3. 3nouncountable or uncountablefigurativeliterary

   A struggle or contest of any kind, not always violent.

   Grammar: Often figurative: a combat of wits.

   Patterns

   • a combat of something

   The debate was a combat of wits.

   They entered into verbal combat over the budget.

   The two chess masters fought a long combat.

Word forms

Common combinations

combat troops

Combat troops arrived at dawn.

combat crime

New policing methods aim to combat crime.

in combat

He was wounded in combat.

hand-to-hand combat

They trained in hand-to-hand combat.

combat disease

Clean water helps combat disease.

combat fatigue

Veterans sometimes suffered from combat fatigue.

Synonyms and how they differ

battle

Describes a specific fight between forces, and also works figuratively for a long struggle.

fight

The general, everyday word, usable for any physical or verbal conflict.

counter

As a verb, means to act against something, usually a specific argument or threat.

tackle

Means to deal with a problem energetically, with less sense of struggling against an enemy.

Opposites

Word family

combatant noun

a person who takes part in fighting

combative adjective

ready or eager to fight or argue

noncombatant noun

someone in a war zone who does not fight

combat-ready adjective

prepared for fighting

Commonly confused: combat or compete?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “combat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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