combat

The word “combat” means fighting between armed opponents, especially as part of a war. In plain terms, as a noun, armed fighting; as a verb, to fight against something, including abstract problems like disease or crime.

“Combat” is pronounced KOM-bat (/ˈkɑmˌbæt/ in IPA).

Here is “combat” used in a sentence: “Many soldiers struggle with what they witnessed in combat.”

Depending on how it is used, “combat” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “combat” dates back to around 1500 and comes from Latin. Borrowed in the 16th century from Middle French combat, from Old French combatre, ultimately from Latin com- ("together") + battuere ("to beat, strike").

“Combat” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Combat” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: fighting between armed opponents, especially as part of a war.

Combat is the general activity of fighting between armed opponents. A battle is a single, organised clash within a war, fought at a particular time and place. Soldiers experience combat during many battles. Combat is the broad idea; a battle is one specific engagement.

Combat is often divided by setting and method: ground combat on land, aerial combat in the air, and naval combat at sea. It also splits into armed and unarmed, and into close or hand-to-hand combat versus fighting at a distance with ranged weapons.

It is both. As a noun, combat means fighting between armed opponents, as in 'wounded in combat.' As a verb, to combat something means to fight against or try to stop it, as in 'combat crime' or 'combat disease.' The stress often shifts between the two uses.

Soldiers exchanging fire on a battlefield, fighter jets duelling overhead, and warships trading shots at sea are all combat. Outside war, boxing and wrestling are called combat sports because they involve direct physical fighting. The core idea is armed or physical fighting between opponents.