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
The six hostages executed by Hamas attempted to fight off their killers.
—
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 10 Sep. 2024
When Tell succeeds against all odds, the Viceroy attempts to go back on his bargain, just the beginning of a treacherous effort with Tell in command to fight off the Austrian King’s edicts and terrorist activities against the Swiss and restore peace to this once peaceful country.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2024
The material contains lignin and silica as well, both of which aid in fighting off bacteria growth.
—Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2024
But even as experts have recognized that some species, such as Triceratops, really did lock horns, most ceratopsids had horn arrangements that don’t seem optimized to fight off tyrannosaurs or battle each other.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fight off 
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 10 Sep. 2024
When Tell succeeds against all odds, the Viceroy attempts to go back on his bargain, just the beginning of a treacherous effort with Tell in command to fight off the Austrian King’s edicts and terrorist activities against the Swiss and restore peace to this once peaceful country.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2024
The material contains lignin and silica as well, both of which aid in fighting off bacteria growth.
—Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2024
But even as experts have recognized that some species, such as Triceratops, really did lock horns, most ceratopsids had horn arrangements that don’t seem optimized to fight off tyrannosaurs or battle each other.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fight off
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fight off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Fight off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fight%20off. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
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