battle

battle [-s, -'s] n

OFr < L.

1. Dispute; fight; strife; encounter between enemies; contention between two or more parties.
2. Military conflict; confrontation in war; direct combat between armies; (see 2 Samuel 19:10).
3. Inner struggle; mental strain.
4. Life-threatening experience; encounter with death.
5. Phrase [see Burgoyne, proper n.] “Battle of Burgoyne”: bloody skirmish in the U.S. War of Independence; conflict named for the British general John Burgoyne; [fig.] colorful sundown; red sky at dusk.