COMBAT (3)

Com″bat, n. [[Cf. F. combat.]] 1. 1. A fight; a contest of violence; a struggle for supremacy.
My courage try by combat, if thou dar'st. Shak. The noble combat that 'twixt joy and sorrow was fought in Paulina. Shak. 2. 2. (Mil.) An engagement of no great magnitude; or one in which the parties engaged are not armies.
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.