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dogfight

American  
[dawg-fahyt, dog-] / ˈdɔgˌfaɪt, ˈdɒg- /

noun

  1. a violent fight between dogs.

  2. a fight between warring fighter planes.

  3. any rough-and-tumble physical battle.

verb (used with object)

dogfought, dogfighting

  1. to engage in a dogfight with.

verb (used without object)

dogfought, dogfighting

  1. to engage in a dogfight.

dogfight British  
/ ˈdɒɡˌfaɪt /

noun

  1. close quarters combat between fighter aircraft

  2. any rough violent fight

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dogfight

1650–60; 1915 dogfight for def. 2; dog + fight

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Williams didn’t speak about the details of the encounter — even with family members — until records about the dogfight were declassified in 2002.

From Los Angeles Times

It was a dogfight and Italy's dogs were just that bit more menacing.

From BBC

Last weekend Osasuna winger Munoz impressed as his team won away for the first time all season, for back-to-back wins to take them away from the relegation dogfight.

From Barron's

He then conceded, “It’s going to be a dogfight.”

From Los Angeles Times

So why enable a future scenario in which F-35 jets conduct dogfights against each other?

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.