a concerted campaign to end something that is injurious; "the war on poverty"; "the war against crime"
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy; "thousands of people were killed in the war"
an active struggle between competing entities; "a price war"; "a war of wits"; "diplomatic warfare"
a legal state created by a declaration of war and ended by official declaration during which the international rules of war apply; "war was declared in November but actual fighting did not begin until the following spring"
engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively; "His work preoccupies him"; "The matter preoccupies her completely--she cannot think of anything else"
occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance; "the army preoccupied the hills"
a boxing or wrestling match; "the fight was on television last night"
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle; "a fight broke out at the hockey game"; "there was fighting in the streets"; "the unhappy couple got into a terrible scrap"
an intense verbal dispute; "a violent fight over the bill is expected in the Senate"
fight against or resist strongly; "The senator said he would oppose the bill"; "Don't fight it!"
make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"
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"
actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency
the act of appeasing someone or causing someone to be more favorably inclined; "a wonderful skill in the pacification of crying infants"; "his unsuccessful mollification of the mob"
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try"