skirmish

noun

1. A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war.

   “On 2 March, Chinese border guards with the help of regular PLA forces skillfully ambushed Strelnikov's unit on the ice near Chen Pao, killing him and 30 Soviets in the subsequent skirmish.”

   “The walls are slitted with embrasures through which bowmen could fire, indicating that the belfry also served as a stronghold during border skirmishes.”

2. (broadly, figuratively)Any minor dispute.

   “Three people were arrested after a skirmish in a bar.”

   “Fires which have heretofore been one‐alarm skirmishes are now multialarm small wars.”

3. A type of outdoor military style game using paintball or similar weapons.

verb

1. (intransitive)To engage in a minor battle or dispute.

   “The deer and the pig and the nilghai were milling round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles radius, while the Eaters of Flesh skirmished round its edge.”

   “Other historians might also remark that […] they have persisted all this time, constantly wrestling and skirmishing and yet never destroying themselves.”