battle in WordNet English dictionary

1. a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
   "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement"
   battle  conflict  fight  engagement 
   
2. an energetic attempt to achieve something
   "getting through the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for recognition"
   struggle  battle 
   
3. an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)
   "the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs"
   conflict  struggle  battle 
   

1. battle or contend against in or as if in a battle
   "The Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Northern Iraq"; "We must combat the prejudices against other races"; "they battled over the budget"
   battle  combat