fight off

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive

   To defend yourself against someone or something that is attacking you, and make them go away.

   Grammar: Takes an object: fight off an attacker. The object can go between fight and off: fight an attacker off.

   Patterns

   • fight off someone/something
   • fight someone/something off

   The guard fought off two men who tried to rob the store.

   She fought off the dog with a stick and ran to safety.

   He had to fight off the urge to scream.

2. 2verbtransitive

   To try hard to stop yourself from getting an illness or to get rid of an illness.

   Grammar: Takes an object, often an illness or infection: fight off a cold.

   Patterns

   • fight off an illness
   • fight off an infection
   • fight off a cold

   She took vitamin C to fight off the flu.

   His body fought off the infection without antibiotics.

   I drank lots of water to fight off a headache.

Word forms

Common combinations

fight off an infection

The medicine helped him fight off the infection quickly.

fight off sleep

She drank coffee to fight off sleep during the night shift.

fight off an attacker

He managed to fight off the attacker and call the police.

Synonyms and how they differ

repel

More formal and often used for physical attacks or insects; 'fight off' is more general and can also mean resisting illness.

resist

Focuses on not giving in to something, like temptation or disease; 'fight off' suggests active struggle to make it go away.

Opposites

Word family

fight verb

To use physical force or arguments against someone.

fighter noun

A person who fights, especially in a sport or war.

Commonly confused: fight off or fight out?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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