See Also: COMBAT, Eng(law)
combat(1)(dictionary)
combat(2)(dictionary)
single combat(dictionary)
combat fatigue(dictionary)
combat 2, verb(dictionary)
combat 1, noun(dictionary)
hors de combat(dictionary)
combat neurosis(medicine)
combat exhaustion(medicine)

combat(1) (iou)



combat noun. M16.
[French, from combattre from late Latin combattere, formed as COM- + var. of batuere fight.]
A fight or armed encounter between two persons, parties, animals, etc.; a duel. More explicitly single combat. M16.
judicial combat: see JUDICIAL adjective. judiciary combat: see JUDICIARY adjective 3. trial by combat Hist. legal decision of a dispute by single combat.
gen. A fight, fighting, between opposing forces (usu. on a smaller scale than (a) battle); a conflict, strife. L16.
UNARMED combat.
B. Jowett Is courage only a combat against fear and pain? H. Wouk Her life passed in combat with an incompetent world. attrib.: F. Fitzgerald These officers were professional soldiers. Most of them had combat experience.
Comb.: combat boots, combat jacket: (of a type) worn by soldiers in actual combat; combat fatigue mental illness due to stress in wartime combat (= battle fatigue); combat jacket: see combat boots above; combat trousers loose trousers with large patch pockets halfway down each leg, typically made of hard-wearing cotton.