Meanings
present singular third person puts up a fight · participle present putting up a fight
- To offer some form of resistance to an attack.
She put up a fight when the mugger tried to steal her purse.
1 more example
Most sharks will not put up a fight in the way that a sailfish or a tuna will when caught; sharks usually stay deep and pull hard on the line.
1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 148 - figurativelyTo protest or make a fuss, especially over a proposed course of action.
Their youngest son always put up a fight when it was bedtime.
1 more example
I'll put up a fight, taking out my earrings Don't you know the vibe? Don't you know the feeling? You should spend the night, catch me on your ceiling That's your prize, that's your prize Well
2024, Gracie Abrams, Audrey Hobert, “That's So True”, in The Secret of Us, performed by Gracie Abrams
Translations
Finnish taistella vastaan, tapella vastaan
- taistella vastaanto offer some form of resistance to an attack
- tapella vastaanto offer some form of resistance to an attack
- laittaa vastaanto offer some form of resistance to an attack
Polish stawiać opór, stawić opór
- stawiać opórto offer some form of resistance to an attack
- stawić opórto offer some form of resistance to an attack
Swedish göra motstånd, streta emot
- göra motståndto offer some form of resistance to an attack
- streta emotto offer some form of resistance to an attack
Cite this entry
put up a fight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20a%20fight
“put up a fight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20a%20fight. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put up a fight,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20a%20fight.
Source: put up a fight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.