combat
pronunciation
How to pronounce combat in British English:
UK [ˈkɒmbæt]
How to pronounce combat in American English:
US [ˈkɑːmbæt]
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- Noun:
- an engagement fought between two military forces
- the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
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- Verb:
- battle or contend against in or as if in a battle
Word Origin
- combat
- combat: [16] Combat means literally ‘fight with’. It comes via French combattre from late Latin combattere, a compound verb formed from Latin com- ‘with’ and *battere, an assumed variant of Latin battuere ‘fight, beat’ (ultimate source of English abate, battle, and debate).=> abate, battle, debate
- combat (v.)
- 1560s, from Middle French combat (16c.), from Old French combattre (12c.), from Late Latin combattere, from Latin com- "with" (each other) (see com-) + battuere "to beat, fight" (see batter (v.)). Related: Combated; combating; combatted; combatting.
- combat (n.)
- 1560s, from Middle French combat (16c.), from combattre (see combat (v.)).
Example
- 1. The upper yellow and red pennant means combat readiness .
- 2. Insisting on real names is supposed to combat spam .
- 3. We will help the muslim world combat the spread of extremism .
- 4. His father assigned him to teach the scouts hand-to-hand combat .
- 5. The work could provide leads for drugs to combat alzheimer 's and other debilitating neurological diseases .