Combat (? or ?; 277), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Combated; p. pr. & vb. n. Combating.] [F. combattre; pref. com- + battre to beat, fr. L. battuere to strike. See Batter.] To struggle or contend, as with an opposing force; to fight.
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To combat with a blind man I disdain. Milton.
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After the fall of the republic, the Romans combated only for the choice of masters. Gibbon.
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Combat, n. [Cf. F. combat.] 1. A fight; a contest of violence; a struggle for supremacy.
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My courage try by combat, if thou dar'st. Shak.
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The noble combat that 'twixt joy and sorrow was fought in Paulina. Shak.
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2. (Mil.) An engagement of no great magnitude; or one in which the parties engaged are not armies.
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Single combat, one in which a single combatant meets a single opponent, as in the case of David and Goliath; also, a duel.

Syn. -- A battle; engagement; conflict; contest; contention; struggle; fight, strife. See Battle, Contest.
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