pitched battle
4
8.0
- noun
- /pɪtʃt ˈbætəl/
:
batalla campal
- In the historic pitched battle of Gettysburg, thousands of soldiers fought bravely on both sides.
- fought pitched battle
Examples
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Major pitched battles fought during the first stage of the conquest.
Academic text (2010) -
In these years, Rodrigo met Alfonso's forces in several pitched battles, demonstrating great courage and thus increasing his personal prestige.
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That means people are in pitched battle on both sides.
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Now there was a pitched battle between the two camps.
Fiction book (1999) -
We'll do our best to forestall a pitched battle in the village.
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At that signal, Gelon advanced from Himera to meet the Carthaginians in pitched battle.
Academic text (2011) -
While few pitched battles at sea occurred, fleets nonetheless helped supply and reinforce armies across many theatres of war.
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The two armies faced each other in a pitched battle at dawn, determined to claim victory.
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After weeks of planning, the rebels launched a pitched battle against the entrenched soldiers at the border.
Synonyms
∞
1.4
A violent fight between armed groups in a war
854
3.5
A fight between soldiers or armed groups in a war
61
7.1
A fight between armed groups during a war
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a fierce, arranged fight' is not directly derivable from combining 'pitched' (commonly known as 'sloping' or 'thrown') with 'battle' for a B1 learner. 'Pitched' here reflects an older sense meaning 'set' or 'arranged', which is lexicalized and not transparent or predictable from the usual senses, so learners will need prior exposure to understand it.
Etymology
Pitched battle comes from the older word pitch, meaning 'to set up', as when you pitch a tent in a chosen place. So the image is of two armies put in position for a serious, planned fight, and that's why pitched battle means a fierce, organized battle.