combat

noun

/ˈkɒmbæt/

/ˈkɑːmbæt/

[uncountable, countable]

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fighting or a fight, especially during a time of war
- in combat He was killed in combat.
- armed/unarmed combat (= with/without weapons)
- combat troops
- combat boots
- aerial combat
- Knightly combats were only a very small part of medieval warfare.
see also single combat
Extra Examples
- Our platoon has yet to see combat.
- The soldiers are in combat with rebel forces.
- The troops were locked in hand-to-hand combat.
- a fierce combat between two champions
- in mortal combat against dragons
- Hardly any enemy combat aircraft have been destroyed.
Topics War and conflictc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- fierce
- intense
- mortal
- …
verb + combat
- be engaged in
- be locked in
- engage in
- …
combat + noun
- mission
- operation
- zone
- …
preposition
- in combat
- in combat with
- combat against
- …
See full entry
Word Originmid 16th cent. (originally denoting a fight between two people or parties): from French combattre (verb), from late Latin combattere, from com- ‘together with’ + battere, variant of Latin batuere ‘to fight’.

combat

verb

/ˈkɒmbæt/

/ˈkɑːmbæt/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they combat	/ˈkɒmbæt/ /ˈkɑːmbæt/
he / she / it combats	/ˈkɒmbæts/ /ˈkɑːmbæts/
past simple combated	/ˈkɒmbætɪd/ /ˈkɑːmbætɪd/
past participle combated	/ˈkɒmbætɪd/ /ˈkɑːmbætɪd/
past simple combatted	/ˈkɒmbætɪd/ /ˈkɑːmbætɪd/
past participle combatted	/ˈkɒmbætɪd/ /ˈkɑːmbætɪd/
-ing form combating	/ˈkɒmbætɪŋ/ /ˈkɑːmbætɪŋ/
-ing form combatting	/ˈkɒmbætɪŋ/ /ˈkɑːmbætɪŋ/

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combat something to stop something unpleasant or harmful from happening or from getting worse
- measures to combat crime/inflation/unemployment/disease
Extra Examples
- Measures to combat violent crime have been proposed.
- She argued that the only way to combat inflation effectively was to keep interest rates high.
- He announced new measures to combat crime in the inner cities.
- The country has appealed for aid to combat serious shortages of foodstuffs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- effectively
- successfully
verb + combat
- help (to)
- be designed to
phrases
- action to combat something
- efforts to combat something
- measures to combat something
- …
See full entry
combat somebody (formal) to fight against an enemy
- The security forces were unwilling to combat the insurgents.

Word Originmid 16th cent. (originally denoting a fight between two people or parties): from French combattre (verb), from late Latin combattere, from com- ‘together with’ + battere, variant of Latin batuere ‘to fight’.