Tikibu: pronunciation dictionary with use examples

Word: skirmish
IPA transcription: [sk'ɝmɪʃ]
noun meaning of the word
  • Synonyms: brush, clash, encounter, skirmish
    Meaning: a minor short-term fight
verb meaning of the word
  • Synonyms: skirmish
    Meaning: engage in a skirmish
Usage examples
  • His brothers had been taken prisoners in a skirmish, and his only hope of saving their lives was in making terms with the king.
  • Had such a skirmish taken place, nothing beyond an absolute miracle, or change of the laws of nature, could have saved the little band.
  • A sharp skirmish ensued in which one of the warriors was killed, when the remainder fled, leaving the property once more in the hands of its rightful owners. The men however did not come off entirely safe.
  • There is nothing they so much dread as being left on foot with an empty gun and no time to load, when perhaps a single shot might change defeat into victory; sure captivity into freedom, or a dead companion into a laughing, jolly and lovable help-mate, ready for setting a trap or to engage in the next bloody skirmish.
  • De Noort, who was furious over this foul play, landed from his ships 120 men; but he found the Portuguese so well entrenched, that after a brisk skirmish in which seventeen more of his men were either killed or wounded, he was obliged to weigh anchor without having been able to avenge the wicked and cowardly perfidy to which his brother and twelve of his companions had fallen victims.