skirmish

skir·mish  (skûrmsh)

n.

1. A minor battle in war, as one between small forces or between large forces avoiding direct conflict.

2. A minor or preliminary conflict or dispute: a skirmish over the rules before the debate began.

intr.v. skir·mished, skir·mish·ing, skir·mish·es

To engage in a minor battle or dispute.

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[Middle English skirmisshe, alteration (influenced by Middle English skirmisshen, to brandish a weapon) of skarmush, from Old French eskarmouch, from Old Italian scaramuccia, of Germanic origin; see sker-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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skirmish·er n.

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skirmish

Noun

a brief or minor fight or argument

Verb

to take part in a skirmish [Old French eskirmir]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	skirmish - a minor short-term fight             encounter, clash, brush contretemps - an awkward clash; "he tried to smooth over his contretemps with the policeman" fighting, combat, fight, scrap - the act of fighting; any contest or struggle; "a fight broke out at the hockey game"; "there was fighting in the streets"; "the unhappy couple got into a terrible scrap"
Verb	1.	skirmish - engage in a skirmish fight, struggle, contend - be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight; "the tribesmen fought each other"; "Siblings are always fighting"; "Militant groups are contending for control of the country"

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skirmish

noun 1. fight, battle, conflict, incident, clash, contest, set-to (informal) encounter, brush, combat, scrap (informal) engagement, spat, tussle, fracas, affray Law dust-up (informal) scrimmage, biffo Austral. (slang) boilover Austral.

verb 2. fight, clash, come to blows, scrap (informal) collide, grapple, wrangle, tussle, lock horns, cross swords

Translations

skirmish [ˈskəːmɪʃ] n → escaramuza

skirmish [ˈskəːmɪʃ] n → escarmouche f, accrochage m

skirmish [ˈskəːmɪʃ] n (Mil) → Geplänkel nt;

(political etc) → Zusammenstoß m

skirmish [ˈskəːmɪʃ] n → scaramuccia