skirmish

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war.

   • On 2 March, Chinese border guards with the help of regular PLA forces skillfully ambushed Strelnikov's unit on the ice near Chen Pao, killing him and 30 Soviets in the subsequent skirmish.
   • The walls are slitted with embrasures through which bowmen could fire, indicating that the belfry also served as a stronghold during border skirmishes.
2. 2

   Any minor dispute.

   • Three people were arrested after a skirmish in a bar.
   • Fires which have heretofore been one‐alarm skirmishes are now multialarm small wars.
3. 3

   A type of outdoor military style game using paintball or similar weapons.

4. ›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer

   1. 4

      To engage in a minor battle or dispute.

      • The deer and the pig and the nilghai were milling round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles radius, while the Eaters of Flesh skirmished round its edge.
      • Other historians might also remark that […] they have persisted all this time, constantly wrestling and skirmishing and yet never destroying themselves.

The neighborhood

• neighborscreen