resist or confront with resistance; "The politician defied public opinion"; "The new material withstands even the greatest wear and tear"; "The bridge held"
elude, especially in a baffling way; "This behavior defies explanation"
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 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"
an arrow that is shot from a crossbow; has a head with four edges
an angry dispute; "they had a quarrel"; "they had words"
have a disagreement over something; "We quarreled over the question as to who discovered America"; "These two fellows are always scrapping over something"