fight off

phrasal verb

fought off; fighting off; fights off

: to defend oneself against (someone or something) by fighting or struggling : to avoid being harmed or overcome by (someone or something) by fighting or struggling

They fought off the attack/attackers.

I'm trying to fight off a cold.

Examples of fight off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This phenomenon seemed to occur in 2009 when older people often fared better at fighting off H1N1, the novel flu strain that jumped to humans from pigs. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025

Broccoli and her producing partner, her half-brother Michael G, Wilson, fiercely fought off takeover attempts through the years, but their casting and story structures were not consistently as inspired as their negotiating skills. —Peter Bart, Deadline, 27 Feb. 2025

Stain resistance focuses on fighting off the effects of mud, grass and any other debris shoes attract. —Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2025

Dawn fights off the ghost, bleeding and shrieking into the void, pouring her heart into the battle. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025

Rhymes for fight off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff