Tra từ battle - Từ điển LongMan Dictionary

I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a battle/clash/test of wills (=when two determined people oppose each other)
▪ Even the smallest decision could become an exhausting battle of wills.
a bitter battle/dispute
▪ There was a bitter battle over the building of the new airport.
a custody battle/dispute (=a legal argument about who will have custody)
▪ He is fighting a bitter custody battle for his children.
a desperate struggle/battle/fight
▪ The climbers faced a desperate struggle to reach safety.
a hard-fought battle/contest/game etc
▪ one of the most hard-fought games this season
▪ a hard-fought battle for the presidency
a war/battle/combat zone
▪ Planes were diverted to avoid flying over the war zone.
battle cruiser
battle cruiser
▪ a battle cruiser
battle cry
▪ ‘Socialism Now!’ was their battle cry.
battle fatigue
battle/struggle against the odds (=work hard despite great difficulties)
▪ The Coastguard was battling against the odds to keep the oil spill from reaching the shore.
gun battle
▪ Two policemen were killed in a gun battle.
long-running dispute/battle/debate/feud etc
▪ She was involved in a long-running legal battle.
losing...battle
▪ Freddie died in 1982 after losing his battle against AIDS.
pitched battle
▪ a pitched battle between the rival groups
sb’s fight/struggle/battle for survival
▪ Their lives had been one long struggle for survival.
the ensuing battle/conflict/debate etc
▪ In the ensuing fighting, two students were killed.
turf war/battle (=a fight or argument over the areas or things you think belong to you)
▪ turf wars among government bureaucracies
wage a campaign/struggle/battle etc
▪ The council has waged a vigorous campaign against the proposal.
win a battle/war
▪ Who won the battle of Waterloo?
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
ADJECTIVE
bitter
▪ Allen is involved in a bitter custody battle for his and Mia's three children.
▪ The agreement effectively ends a bitter legal battle in two states between Mrs Harriman and the heirs.
▪ They are now locked in a bitter custody battle over their three children.
▪ Third, he ran for president in 1988 and lost a bitter primary battle with George Bush.
▪ It would also help if he had been engaged in a much publicised and bitter battle with the Prime Minister.
▪ Simpson recently won full custody of the children from the Browns after a bitter court battle.
▪ The long-awaited report has been a key part of the couple's bitter custody battle.
▪ In the United States, an ever-more bitter battle had been fought around this issue since abortion was legalized in 1972.
desperate
▪ She kept up the desperate battle until another ambulance reached them near Hexham, Northumberland.
▪ World War I had been a desperate see-saw battle up till its closing days.
▪ He saw that all the company had dismounted, and were fighting a desperate battle against the pack that surrounded them.
fierce
▪ Suddenly, it dredges up ghosts weighted down and buried in haste after a fierce battle.
▪ He was a great horseman and he fed his horses human flesh to make them fierce in battle.
▪ During the ensuing months, a fierce battle was raged.
▪ Holtzman brought him down in a fierce primary battle that focused on his age.
▪ The fierce battle for Travnik was now over, the sources said.
▪ While Achilles stayed in his tent a fierce battle followed, the hardest yet fought.
▪ The requirement for large body size arises from the fierce battles between males for access to females.
▪ It is in their region, plus California, that Dole and Clinton probably will stage their fiercest battle for electoral votes.
great
▪ The Mullahs nest great battle with the Shah came over his White Revolution in the early 1960's.
▪ The two-day affair at Hampton Roads attracted worldwide attention and was destined for inclusion among the great naval battles history.
▪ He tells me of a great battle his ancestors fought near Lake Victoria.
▪ The casualties of the greatest battle in history would be as nothing, before the carnage that might start at any second.
▪ There was a great battle between Banba and myself.
▪ When the engine kicked in, there was a sweet roar like the opening barrage of a great battle.
▪ Joseph saw the wrestling day as one of his great sea battles.
▪ And how does the Persian Gulf War rate as one of the great battles of all time?
legal
▪ The ruling came at the end of a five-year legal battle between a divorced couple that cost £840,000.
▪ Raines retained Abner Burnett of Midland, and the two squared off for a legal battle.
▪ They are also waging a legal battle to try to re-establish traditional communal rights on the mountainside.
▪ The agreement effectively ends a bitter legal battle in two states between Mrs Harriman and the heirs.
▪ However, after a prolonged legal battle, Fleiss said she is ready to end her standoff with state authorities.
▪ In 1236, following a long legal battle, he secured visitation rights over the monks of Coventry.
▪ The developer, in turn, sued the city and Pilachowski, setting off a lengthy legal battle.
long
▪ Shire difficulty became sheer impossibility after a months long battle to deselect David Abrahams, the previous candidate.
▪ But Thursday, the long battle finally ended.
▪ The 61-year-old electrician died on Monday night after losing a long battle against cancer.
▪ Scientology has fought long battles for legal acceptance as a religion and has succeeded in many countries, including the United States.
▪ Rehnquist confronted it himself when his wife, Natalie, died in 1991 after a long battle with ovarian cancer.
▪ After a long battle with the local council, she was finally taken to court and fined £800.
▪ Their long battle of need and rejection had finally come to a head.
major
▪ Here, in a major battle, two factors were emphasised.
▪ A major battle must be fought to get rid of it.
▪ His hair was the one major battle that Jazz had failed to win with his parents.
▪ It was a really major battle.
▪ Certainly, the Treasury was to be a major battle ground between contending philosophies.
▪ A mere seventy air-miles or so away, a major battle was being conducted in the province of Phuoc Long.
▪ It is to emphasise that Papert is fighting major battles over the nature of the relationship between computers and education.
▪ This initiative caused a major battle within the team.
pitched
▪ After a pitched battle, no less than 29 of the gang were arrested.
▪ There were pitched battles, so they lay in wait for you.
▪ They must fight pitched battles, and fight in a body; and they must begin fighting as far forward as possible.
▪ But if it came to a pitched battle, the phalanx of heavily armed, well-mounted knights was a very formidable weapon.
▪ There followed a pitched battle at a bridge across the Dnestr river leading into the town.
▪ It is surprising, therefore, how seldom armies joined in pitched battle in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
▪ The scene was all set for a pitched battle.
▪ There are few archers or hand gunners who can stand against decent combat troops in a pitched battle.
political
▪ Some of us even enjoy the political battles, provided we win a few.
▪ Here the political gender battle is reversed.
▪ But it may be only the beginning as the political battle over welfare reform is about to be joined.
▪ The repairs debacle has become a political battle symbolising the party's awkward relationship to its own supporters.
▪ South Carolina was an epic political battle, and Bush won it well.
▪ Truman, who particularly relished a political battle when he was the underdog, fought back.
▪ The hard-liners have not vanished, and the political battles ahead will be intense.
running
▪ I was not told, when we left, that I should have to fight a running battle with four hundred horsemen.
▪ As well as his running battle with Monkou, he left stud marks on defender Richard Hall.
▪ Pope and he kept up a running literary battle.
▪ In the resulting confrontation several hundred Mohawks armed with clubs and guns fought running battles with police.
▪ An even longer running battle was fought in the royal dockyards.
▪ GEC/Siemens raised their bid to £2 billion in August 1989 and this proved sufficient to end the long running battle.
▪ For years he had continued a running battle with producers and film companies whom he saw as the bad guys.
uphill
▪ Video-Taped report follows Voice over Oxford's uphill battle against relegation continues tomorrow at Barnsley.
▪ Strickland, a strong environmentalist, is in an uphill battle against Rep.
▪ Ordinary civility was an uphill battle for him.
▪ However, each parlor faces an uphill battle because the city hired a financial consulting firm to review the applications.
▪ While critics of his decision gained momentum Thursday, the record shows they face an uphill battle.
▪ Dole faces an uphill battle in the state-by-state electoral vote battle.
▪ But getting those messages to women may be an uphill battle.
▪ Fencing: The team epee competition begins but the United States faces an uphill battle.
NOUN
budget
▪ He would talk about what is going on in the budget battle, what is going on in the Medicare debate.
▪ Now, however, the Clinton administration does not have the funds due to its budget battle with the Republican-controlled Congress.
court
▪ His government collapsed, and he has spent six years fighting-and winning-\\#court battles, often on technicalities.
▪ And an expensive court battle will drag on for years; and, whatever the out-come, the owner loses.
▪ He gave her specialist child custody advice and helped her win legal aid for her court battle.
▪ Flood never enjoyed the freedom he sought in baseball, but his efforts paved the way for other court battles.
▪ Why did Angela Smith's wedding day turn into a ding-dong court battle? 12.
▪ Simpson recently won full custody of the children from the Browns after a bitter court battle.
▪ The court battle would drag on for years, long after Groucho was dead.
cry
▪ His battle cry was echoed by Baal and Set, as they hurtled forward in his wake.
▪ We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom.
▪ She heard his cry, perhaps the battle cry of his northern forefathers when they prepared to attack.
▪ And we bear the glorious stars for the Union and the right, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom!
▪ The new battle cry was: Year-Round Casual.
▪ Their battle cry at the moment is: To know synchronized swimming is to love synchronized swimming.
▪ Her parting gesture, almost a battle cry.
▪ They let off a battle cry.
custody
▪ Allen is involved in a bitter custody battle for his and Mia's three children.
▪ On all sides of the debate, experts agree that children have already lost as soon as a custody battle begins.
▪ They are now locked in a bitter custody battle over their three children.
▪ And he never mentioned the custody battle for his two young children that recently ended.
▪ The long-awaited report has been a key part of the couple's bitter custody battle.
▪ So was the custody battle over her children.
▪ In a custody battle she would naturally be awarded the boy.
gun
▪ Seven police officers were injured in a gun battle.
▪ But none of that happened without running gun battles with the centralizers in Washington.
▪ On April 28 eight people died and more than 20 were injured in a gun battle in the village of Troitskaya.
▪ After 10 days of gun battles, Federal troops were called out to quell the violence.
▪ In the gun battle that followed all the rebels were shot dead except one-17-year-old Bhagwati Chaudhary.
▪ His parents were told at first that he was hit in the chest during a gun battle.
▪ Khosana was shot dead in an ensuing gun battle with Ciskeian troops.
▪ Last Sunday 22 people died and 52 were injured in gun battles and by landmines in the state.
lines
▪ The battle lines, it seemed, had already been drawn.
▪ The battle lines are not at all clear: a competitor may also be an alliance partner.
▪ The battle lines over animal research are being drawn in California.
▪ In local news, the battle lines between rival news operations are being blurred even more.
▪ In December the Red Cross persuaded both sides to allow it to cross their battle lines.
▪ He notes battle lines are being drawn in the foothills of the Tortolita Mountains, just north of Tucson.
▪ The battle lines have been drawn.
▪ Pete Wilson yesterday, drawing a strongly worded veto but defining the battle lines after months of debate and anguished decisions.
scene
▪ How to convey the battle scene posed a problem.
▪ Lawrence were now making their way from Fort Monroe toward the battle scene.
▪ He and his co-stars describe how scary it was filming the battle scenes in their new movie.
▪ But be warned: The battle scenes are as fierce and brutal as the reality of bladed warfare.
▪ Life size models of the medieval lords, and a dramatic civil war battle scene, are just some of the attractions.
▪ The streets were busy but seemed far removed from the battle scene across the river.
▪ Growing in the most sinister manner, it is embedded in a battle scene taking place across the River Nile.
zone
▪ Below us was the battle zone, 464 square miles of urban decay, whose every street was a border to some one.
▪ Voice over More recently the Hercules has again headed for a battle zone.
▪ For two hours, they're packed together as the Hercules fly low above the make believe battle zone.
▪ Migrants flocking in panic from the battle zone provided a useful veil of confusion.
VERB
engage
▪ At least 200 rebels, massed towards Gifunzo in Rutana Province, were engaged in battle.
▪ Our country is engaged in a pitched battle in a fiercely competitive commercial world.
▪ They explain that the patient is engaged in a legal battle with his brother over some land.
▪ Police and demonstrators regularly engage in running battles near Mr Suharto's home in central Jakarta.
▪ Earlier in the day, warriors will engage in mock battle.
▪ Across the table from Kelly, Annie and Bill were engaged in a silent battle of wills.
▪ My feelings and my thoughts were engaged in a battle royal inside me.
face
▪ But now they face a battle to save another from being stripped of trees for a paper and pulp mill.
▪ However, each parlor faces an uphill battle because the city hired a financial consulting firm to review the applications.
▪ The spread was helped by the Army since the idea appealed to soldiers facing possible death in battle.
▪ Kopp said he faced an uphill battle in winning approval for the bill.
▪ But now Reynolds faces a new battle to force the sport's rulers to hand over the £18.5 million.
▪ Dole faces an uphill battle in the state-by-state electoral vote battle.
▪ Read in studio Jaguar is facing a High Court battle over cancelled orders for its new supercar.
▪ Beck now faced a second battle.
fight
▪ But above all we are determined and able to fight battles.
▪ She has a talent for playing modern women who must find the inner strength to fight their own battles.
▪ No one wants to end up fighting a patent battle in court because financially only the lawyers win.
▪ Weight remains a sensitive issue for Engler, who is constantly fighting a sometimes serious battle of the bulge.
▪ We invaded Ireland and fought our own battles there.
▪ Scientology has fought long battles for legal acceptance as a religion and has succeeded in many countries, including the United States.
▪ Or was it to organise workpeople to fight the most immediate battles?
▪ It is not we who have to fight the battle for spiritual progress, as it were.
join
▪ The romantic novelist Dame Barbara Cartland has joined the battle to save an eleventh century abbey.
▪ Upon seeing what has become of his homeland and her people, Diego joins the battle for liberty and justice.
▪ As I was soon to find, he was a man you could like even when you were joined in battle with him.
▪ He went to join the battle and, all unskilled in warfare, he was killed at once.
▪ A nationalist militia, the Mai Mai, has also joined battle with both sides.
▪ He could have joined battle, lost, and opted for some face-saving rapprochement.
▪ He would join in battle or in love so closely with a human that a link was established that worked both ways.
▪ Last week, an opposing group of retired officers joined the battle on the side of the Pentagon.
kill
▪ Secondly, James may have been killed either before the battle or at its beginning.
▪ Between 14 and 16 July twenty-two people were killed in the battles between blacks, the police, and the National Guard.
lead
▪ A career soldier, he had died leading his men into battle at Spion Kop during the Boer War.
▪ There are numerous examples of kings themselves leading in battle.
lock
▪ Last year, when his party was in opposition and locked in a leadership battle, 60% of its supporters voted No.
▪ Budapest Week is now locked in a circulation battle with the new weekly broadsheet, the Budapest Post.
▪ Lomb has been locked in a fierce battle with Johnson&038;.
▪ For more than a year now Mr Kohl has been locked in a battle to rescue his battered reputation for posterity.
lose
▪ This was like a general who had lost a battle or some important territory being disciplined or shot.
▪ In 1986, Lynott lost the battle and passed on.
▪ Although already gravely ill, she posed for this graduation picture just days before losing her battle against cancer.
▪ Third, he ran for president in 1988 and lost a bitter primary battle with George Bush.
▪ The 61-year-old electrician died on Monday night after losing a long battle against cancer.
▪ It may be, in the long run, more productive to lose the battle but win the war.
▪ The govern ment has lost the battle for the hearts and minds of the people.
▪ Had Roosevelt not died, the Corps might well have lost the battle.
pitch
▪ There was a pitched battle here a few hours ago, but soldiers are nowhere in sight now.
▪ I had expected rage, flying pupusas, a pitched battle.
▪ For three weeks he witnessed pitched battles between gendarmes and young demonstrators in the streets of Tizi-Ouzou.
▪ She so much wanted to avoid another pitched battle with her son.
▪ There were once pitched battles and riotous football matches between colliers and tradesmen around the turn of the last century.
▪ The month before, the Metropolitans had fought a pitched battle with their rivals for control of City Hall.
▪ He describes how he killed two young workers taken prisoner in a pitched battle inside a factory workshop.
▪ Our country is engaged in a pitched battle in a fiercely competitive commercial world.
prepare
▪ In the yard, the protagonists were preparing for battle.
▪ Concurrently, adrenaline-related substances are at work, increasing your heart rate and constricting your arteries to prepare you for battle.
▪ Every general has his own method for preparing his troops for battle and I am no exception.
▪ Front-line troops were prepared for battle.
▪ Mr Scargill urged the miners to prepare for battle: they must stand firm over their wage claim.
▪ The two opposing forces around Guanajuato prepared for battle.
▪ When the Night Goblins prepare for battle they brew huge quantities of fungus beer to bolster their courage.
▪ They dash across the road and prepare for battle.
wage
▪ Pasok denied yesterday it was waging a battle on two fronts.
▪ They waged a battle, and we waged a skirmish, and they won.
▪ Bernard would lie awake for hours waging his nightly battle with carnality, slapping it down, groaning.
▪ Both sides say that thousands of Californians have joined grass-roots groups that are waging the battle over the initiative.
▪ But women beyond the West were also waging another kind of battle: against colonialism and for independence.
▪ But they were also deeply different and waged frequent verbal battles.
▪ They are also waging a legal battle to try to re-establish traditional communal rights on the mountainside.
▪ Who remains to wage the battles and to sound the trumpets?
win
▪ The Treasury-tight-knit, secretive, ferociously intelligent-is winning the battle.
▪ When we beat them, we won the turnover battle.
▪ These arguments win only half the battle.
▪ Hicks won a battle for a loose puck from two Sharks.
▪ They did not understand the nature of honour or how to win glory in battle.
▪ High Elf mages are mighty spell casters whose fiery blasts and awesome energies have won many a battle.
▪ George Westinghouse had clearly won the battle of the currents.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an uphill struggle/battle/task etc
▪ However, each parlor faces an uphill battle because the city hired a financial consulting firm to review the applications.
▪ It proved to be an uphill struggle, and was far from successful.
▪ Kopp said he faced an uphill battle in winning approval for the bill.
▪ Rehabilitation will be an uphill struggle.
▪ Smith said gay-rights advocates still believe they are fighting an uphill battle in opposing the bill.
▪ Unless you have a goal your learning will be an uphill struggle.
▪ Voice over Police are hoping to trace original owners but admit it's an uphill task.
▪ While critics of his decision gained momentum Thursday, the record shows they face an uphill battle.
be half the battle
▪ And as the Reidys said, finding a family-friendly company is half the battle.
▪ Media mavens contend that the visual comparison of the two men side by side is half the battle.
▪ Relishing the state is half the battle towards a good life, for everyone.
be locked in battle/combat/dispute etc
fight a losing battle
▪ And yet despite all this the pounds were creeping up on us and we seemed to be fighting a losing battle.
▪ Even with the addition of the Morning Post to the publishing empire in 1924, Die-hard journalism was fighting a losing battle.
▪ For most of these people they were fighting a losing battle.
▪ He tried hard to do this, but he was fighting a losing battle here against the rising tide of papal authority.
▪ The 84-year-old Oscar-winner has been fighting a losing battle against failing sight for the past year.
▪ The windscreen wipers sounded asthmatic, fighting a losing battle against the insistent rain.
▪ Under the present conditions of economic recession, regional policies are fighting a losing battle.
▪ Why couldn't she see she was fighting a losing battle?
fight your own battles
▪ She has a talent for playing modern women who must find the inner strength to fight their own battles.
▪ Surely it is better for the townsfolk themselves to develop the necessary skills to fight their own battles?
▪ We invaded Ireland and fought our own battles there.
join battle
▪ A nationalist militia, the Mai Mai, has also joined battle with both sides.
▪ He could have joined battle, lost, and opted for some face-saving rapprochement.
▪ It would certainly distract the attention of the powerful commercial groups that are about to join battle over cable television networks.
race/work/battle against time
▪ But his parents are faced with a desperate race against time to raise the money necessary for his treatment.
▪ For the cartoonists, it's a daily battle against time, to create work that captures the imagination.
▪ However, with the contract negotiations starting, Lipton and others know that they are fighting a battle against time.
▪ It is a race against time.
▪ It looks as if my whole life is a race against time.
▪ Now it is a race against time to rebuild it before high spring ties later this month.
▪ The picture which became the cover shot, of the Rollright Stones, was a particular race against time.
▪ They face a race against time as fears grow over the health of the whales and the possibility of their becoming beached.
running battle/joke
▪ A man whose name is so synonymous with a suntan that it is a running joke in Doonesbury?
▪ An even longer running battle was fought in the royal dockyards.
▪ As well as his running battle with Monkou, he left stud marks on defender Richard Hall.
▪ I was not told, when we left, that I should have to fight a running battle with four hundred horsemen.
▪ In the resulting confrontation several hundred Mohawks armed with clubs and guns fought running battles with police.
▪ Police and demonstrators regularly engage in running battles near Mr Suharto's home in central Jakarta.
▪ The fighters quickly pursued them and eventually shot down every one in a running battle.
▪ They saw graffiti on important public memorials and they saw running battles with the police.
the Battle of Waterloo
the field (of battle)
▪ Civilians walked miles to villages away from the field of battle.
▪ He was awarded a medal for distinguished service in the field.
▪ It is better to negotiate than to settle political disputes on the field of battle.
▪ The new weapon has not yet been tried out in the field.
▪ It no more lies within the field of morals than does a cross-word puzzle.
▪ Policemen were equipped with self-loading rifles, jeeps and even armoured tractors to chase militants into the fields.
▪ Punches are being thrown, instruments are flying, and the field is littered with funny hats.
▪ Rice dresses immaculately and stylishly at all times, on the field and off.
▪ She had indeed shown little interest in the fields her great-aunt had left, probably because he had the use of them.
▪ That was the hardest part, using the field sales information without making Wilkinson look bad.
▪ With a circular iris, the focus is maintained in both dimensions of the field of view.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a battle between rival gangs
▪ a long and costly legal battle
▪ a naval battle in the North Sea
▪ About 200 students fought pitched battles with police during the demonstrations.
▪ He was killed in a street battle in 1998.
▪ King Olaf died in battle, in 1030.
▪ Lyndon Johnson first sent U.S. combat troops into battle in March 1965.
▪ The battle against racial discrimination is not over.
▪ the Battle of Bunker Hill
▪ the Battle of the Somme
▪ The French lost the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
▪ The President is fully committed to the battle against the drug traffickers.
▪ They now have a good chance of winning the battle against violence and drugs in the community.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Growing in the most sinister manner, it is embedded in a battle scene taking place across the River Nile.
▪ It has implied that where ideological commitments are involved a distinction may be made between relatively easy gestures and hard administrative battles.
▪ Jellicoe and his battle fleet were still well to the north.
▪ Now just kick the tyres, light the fires and leap off unarmed into battle.
▪ Panting and snorting like a mad battle steed that has lost its rider, the masterless ocean overruns the globe.
▪ She loved the chase and the battle and her freedom.
▪ So the Task Force sped on toward its goal, every ship now tense and ready for battle.
▪ This was like a general who had lost a battle or some important territory being disciplined or shot.
II. verb
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an uphill struggle/battle/task etc
▪ However, each parlor faces an uphill battle because the city hired a financial consulting firm to review the applications.
▪ It proved to be an uphill struggle, and was far from successful.
▪ Kopp said he faced an uphill battle in winning approval for the bill.
▪ Rehabilitation will be an uphill struggle.
▪ Smith said gay-rights advocates still believe they are fighting an uphill battle in opposing the bill.
▪ Unless you have a goal your learning will be an uphill struggle.
▪ Voice over Police are hoping to trace original owners but admit it's an uphill task.
▪ While critics of his decision gained momentum Thursday, the record shows they face an uphill battle.
be half the battle
▪ And as the Reidys said, finding a family-friendly company is half the battle.
▪ Media mavens contend that the visual comparison of the two men side by side is half the battle.
▪ Relishing the state is half the battle towards a good life, for everyone.
race/work/battle against time
▪ But his parents are faced with a desperate race against time to raise the money necessary for his treatment.
▪ For the cartoonists, it's a daily battle against time, to create work that captures the imagination.
▪ However, with the contract negotiations starting, Lipton and others know that they are fighting a battle against time.
▪ It is a race against time.
▪ It looks as if my whole life is a race against time.
▪ Now it is a race against time to rebuild it before high spring ties later this month.
▪ The picture which became the cover shot, of the Rollright Stones, was a particular race against time.
▪ They face a race against time as fears grow over the health of the whales and the possibility of their becoming beached.
running battle/joke
▪ A man whose name is so synonymous with a suntan that it is a running joke in Doonesbury?
▪ An even longer running battle was fought in the royal dockyards.
▪ As well as his running battle with Monkou, he left stud marks on defender Richard Hall.
▪ I was not told, when we left, that I should have to fight a running battle with four hundred horsemen.
▪ In the resulting confrontation several hundred Mohawks armed with clubs and guns fought running battles with police.
▪ Police and demonstrators regularly engage in running battles near Mr Suharto's home in central Jakarta.
▪ The fighters quickly pursued them and eventually shot down every one in a running battle.
▪ They saw graffiti on important public memorials and they saw running battles with the police.
the Battle of Waterloo
the field (of battle)
▪ Civilians walked miles to villages away from the field of battle.
▪ He was awarded a medal for distinguished service in the field.
▪ It is better to negotiate than to settle political disputes on the field of battle.
▪ The new weapon has not yet been tried out in the field.
▪ It no more lies within the field of morals than does a cross-word puzzle.
▪ Policemen were equipped with self-loading rifles, jeeps and even armoured tractors to chase militants into the fields.
▪ Punches are being thrown, instruments are flying, and the field is littered with funny hats.
▪ Rice dresses immaculately and stylishly at all times, on the field and off.
▪ She had indeed shown little interest in the fields her great-aunt had left, probably because he had the use of them.
▪ That was the hardest part, using the field sales information without making Wilkinson look bad.
▪ With a circular iris, the focus is maintained in both dimensions of the field of view.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Detectives are convinced 30-year-old Elizabeth battled bravely for her life and tried to escape by fleeing in her boyfriend's four-wheel-drive truck.
▪ Fighting between the Mujahideen has taken as much effort as battling the demoralised government forces.
▪ Lindsey found herself battling against an almost overwhelming and totally illogical desire to run her fingers through its neatness.
▪ Now Haley is also battling the flu.
▪ Starring newcomer Johnny Depp, it was about four young cops who battled high school crime.

battle

I. bat‧tle¹ W2 /ˈbætl/ noun [COUNTABLE]
[date : 1200-1300; Language : Old French; Origin : bataille, from Late Latin battalia 'fighting', from Latin battuere 'to hit']
1. FIGHT a fight between opposing armies, groups of ships, groups of people etc, especially one that is part of a larger war:
　 ▪ the Battle of Trafalgar
in battle
　 ▪ Her son was killed in battle.
into battle
　 ▪ a knight riding into battle
battle between
　 ▪ battles between government forces and the rebels
　 ▪ a pitched battle (=a long and serious battle) between police and drug gangs

2. COMPETITION/ARGUMENT a situation in which opposing groups or people compete or argue with each other when trying to achieve success or control:
　 ▪ a long-running legal battle
battle for
　 ▪ a battle for custody of their children
battle between
　 ▪ a fierce ratings battle between rival TV stations
battle with
　 ▪ an ongoing battle with my mother about eating properly

3. CHANGE BAD SITUATION an attempt to solve a difficult problem or change an unpleasant situation
battle against
　 ▪ a battle against the racism of the school system
battle with
　 ▪ a long battle with lung cancer
battle for
　 ▪ Scientology has fought long battles for acceptance as a religion.

4. be half the battle
to be a difficult or important part of what you have to do:
　 ▪ Just getting an interview is half the battle.

5. a battle of wits
a situation in which opposing sides try to win by using their intelligence:
　 ▪ A good mystery story is a battle of wits between author and reader.

6. battle of wills
a situation in which opposing sides refuse to change what they want, in the hope that the other side will decide to change first:
　 ▪ a battle of wills between teacher and student

7. do battle (with somebody)
to argue with someone or fight against someone:
　 ▪ She walked into the room with her eyes blazing, ready to do battle.

8. fight your own battles
to argue with someone, or compete in a difficult situation, without having help from other people – used to show approval:
　 ▪ It’s all right, Mum. I can fight my own battles.

9. the battle of the sexes
the relationship between men and women when it is considered as a fight for power

10. the battle of the bulge
the act of trying to lose weight – used humorously
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
verbs
▪fight a battle (also wage a battle formal)
　 ▪ The police are fighting a tough battle against crime.
　 ▪ Many areas around here are waging a constant battle against vandalism.
▪win a battle
　 ▪ It’s essential to win the battle against inflation.
▪lose a battle
　 ▪ a brave little girl who lost her battle against cancer
▪face a battle
　 ▪ Paul faces a frantic battle to be fit for the match in November.
adjectives
▪a long/lengthy battle
　 ▪ his long battle with alcoholism
▪an uphill battle (=one that is very difficult)
　 ▪ For most people losing weight is an uphill battle.
▪a tough/hard battle
　 ▪ He faces a tough battle to prove his innocence.
▪a constant battle
　 ▪ As a student, life was a constant battle against debt.
▪a losing battle (=one that is going to fail)
　 ▪ She was fighting a losing battle to stop herself from crying.

II. battle² verb
1. [INTRANSITIVE AND TRANSITIVE]
to try very hard to achieve something that is difficult or dangerous:
　 ▪ Firefighters battled the flames.
battle against/with
　 ▪ She had battled against cancer.
battle for
　 ▪ a pressure group battling for better schools
battle to do something
　 ▪ Doctors battled to save his life.

2. battle it out
to keep fighting or opposing each other until one person or team wins:
　 ▪ Sixteen teams will battle it out.

3. [INTRANSITIVE]
literary to take part in a fight or war