combat
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to try to stop something bad from happening or getting worse.
v.to take active steps to reduce, prevent, or eliminate something undesirable. Transitive — takes a direct object representing the problem.
Simple“The government is introducing new laws to combat climate change.”
In context“Public health officials are working tirelessly to combat the spread of the virus by implementing strict quarantine measures and vaccination programmes.”
UsageCommonly used with abstract nouns like 'crime', 'poverty', 'disease', or 'inflation'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
n.a competition or struggle to win against an opponent.
n.a non-military struggle or contest between opposing individuals or ideas.
Simple“The two politicians were locked in a verbal combat during the debate.”
In context“The courtroom became an arena for intellectual combat as the two legal teams argued over the interpretation of the new statute.”
Usage combat actions
“Gen Bagherzadeh said the three pilots had been captured by Qatar after they ejected from their jets during the combat mission on a Qatari military base.”
“Critics of the police and tougher bail and sentencing laws to combat violent crime have two approaches to the release of annual statistics on crime.”
16th century, borrowed from Middle French combat, deverbal from Old French combatre, from Vulgar Latin *combattere, from Latin com- (“with”) + battuere (“to beat, strike”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.