skirmisher
skirmish
verb[ I ]
uk /ˈskɜː.mɪʃ/ us /ˈskɝː.mɪʃ/
to fight for a short time with a small group of people, away from the main area of fighting in a war:
Police and protesters skirmished in the chilly rain.
Rebels skirmished with nearby American forces.
to argue for a short time:
Although many legal disputes were resolved, lawyers still were skirmishing yesterday in a few places.
The parties skirmished about attorney fees.
Marines and guerrillas skirmished, with sporadic gunfire heard from the north of the city.
For days, separatists and troops had skirmished along the border.
In the Senate, after weeks of skirmishing, Republicans turned back Democratic legislation.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Fighting
armed combat
arms
array
bellicosity
blood diamond
bloodlessly
conflict
engage
firefight
gunfight
pick on someone your own sizeidiom
rabbit punch
refight
remobilization
remobilize
scuffle
see action
tilt at windmillsidiom
toe
tussle

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Arguments & disagreements

skirmish | American Dictionary

skirmish
noun[ C ]
us/ˈskɜr·mɪʃ/
(in wars) a short fight that is usually not planned and happens away from the main area of fighting, or any short fight:
Government troops lost a minor skirmish.
The court skirmish over video rights to the movie continues.