Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

skirmish

Pronunciation: /ˈskəːmɪʃ/

Translate skirmish | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of skirmish

noun

  • an episode of irregular or unpremeditated fighting, especially between small or outlying parts of armies or fleets: the unit was caught in several skirmishes and the commanding officer was killed
  • a short argument:there was a skirmish over the budget

verb

[no object] (often as noun skirmishing)
  • engage in a skirmish:reports of skirmishing along the border

Derivatives

skirmisher

noun

Origin:

Middle English (as a verb): from Old French eskirmiss-, lengthened stem of eskirmir, from a Germanic verb meaning 'defend'

skirmish in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of skirmish in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

offing

/ ˈɒfɪŋ /
noun
the more distant part of the sea in view …