skirmish

1 of 2

noun

skir·​mish ˈskər-mish 

1

: a minor fight in war usually incidental to larger movements

2

a

: a brisk preliminary verbal conflict

b

: a minor dispute or contest between opposing parties

the debate touched off a skirmish

skirmish

2 of 2

verb

skirmished; skirmishing; skirmishes

intransitive verb

1

: to engage in a skirmish

2

: to search about (as for supplies) : scout around

skirmisher noun

Synonyms

Noun

• brush
• encounter
• hassle
• run-in
• scrape

Verb

• battle
• clash (with)
• combat
• fight
• scrimmage (with)
• war (against)

Examples of skirmish in a Sentence

Noun

Skirmishes broke out between rebel groups.

Violent skirmishes with the enemy continue despite talks of peace.

Verb

Rebel groups are skirmishing with military forces.

The presidential candidates skirmished over their economic plans.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The skirmish ended with engineers blowing up a bridge the two Russian assault groups had used to approach Pokrovsk. —David Axe, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Peterson referenced the skirmishes and fights at several NCAA football games on Saturday. —Ben Morse, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024

Verb

Protesters and police skirmished in Georgia’s capital for a fourth straight night on Dec. 1, with signs that opposition was spreading across the country to the government’s decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union. —Felix Light, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Dec. 2024

Garcia, who had the backing of the same progressive groups backing Hernandez, frequently skirmished with Gallego. —Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 13 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English skyrmissh, alteration (influenced by Anglo-French eskermir to fence (with swords), protect, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German scirmen to protect, scirm shield) of skarmuch, from Anglo-French escarmuche, from Old Italian scaramuccia — more at screen

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

skirmish

1 of 2 noun

skir·​mish ˈskər-mish 

1

: a minor fight between small bodies of troops

2

: a minor dispute or contest

skirmish

2 of 2 verb

1

: to engage in a skirmish

2

: to search about (as for supplies)

skirmisher noun