mass noun
1- fighting between armed forces战斗; 格斗：
five Hurricanes were shot down in combat
五架飓风式战斗机在战斗中被击落
count noun pilots re-enacted the aerial combats of yesteryear飞行员们重演了去年的空战
as modifier a combat zone.战区。
1.1
- non-violent conflict or opposition斗争; 反对：
electoral combat.
竞选。
(combated 或combatted, combating或combatting)with obj.
1- take action to reduce, destroy, or prevent (something bad or undesirable)与…战斗, 与…斗争：
an effort to combat drug trafficking.
打击毒品买卖的努力。
1.1
- archaic engage in a fight with; oppose in battle〈古〉战斗; 斗争; 抗争：
no obj. your men combated against the first of ours.你们的人和我们的精英拼搏。
词源
mid 16th cent. (originally denoting a fight between two persons or parties)： from French combattre (verb), from late Latin combattere, from com- 'together with' + battere, variant of Latin batuere 'to fight'.