What does "skirmish" mean?

A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war.

What is a synonym for "skirmish"?

Common synonyms include: brush, action, aerial combat, affray, ambush, armored combat.

Skirmish

//ˈskɜːmɪʃ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1
A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war.
"On 2 March, Chinese border guards with the help of regular PLA forces skillfully ambushed Strelnikov's unit on the ice near Chen Pao, killing him and 30 Soviets in the subsequent skirmish."
2
a minor short-term fight wordnet
3
Any minor dispute. broadly, figuratively
"Three people were arrested after a skirmish in a bar."
4
A type of outdoor military style game using paintball or similar weapons.

Verb

1
To engage in a minor battle or dispute. intransitive
"The deer and the pig and the nilghai were milling round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles radius, while the Eaters of Flesh skirmished round its edge."
2
engage in a skirmish wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

brush action aerial combat affray ambush armored combat

Example

More examples

"He was involved in a skirmish with a violent gang."

Etymology

From Middle English skirmish (as a verb), from Old French escarmouche (“skirmish”), from Italian scaramuccia, earlier schermugio. Doublet of escarmouche, Scaramouche, and Scaramucci.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.