infight

Apparently a back-formation from infighting, perhaps continuing Middle English infighten (“to attack”), from Old English infiht, infeoht (“an attack made upon a person by another in the same house or between members of a household”), equivalent to in- +‎ fight.

infight (third-person singular simple present infights, present participle infighting, simple past and past participle infought)

1. (intransitive) To fight with allies or other members of the same group.
   • 1977 January 10, New York, volume 10, page 58:

     While Kennedy infought to trim outlays to match resources, critics claimed that the era of the big eleemosynaries had come to an end.

   • 2008, Anthony Townsend, Nassira Townsend, The Collapse of America: A Ruined State?, →ISBN, page 62:

     Unfortunately what we have going on in this world against the new Israeli State, is just like what the Arabs do to their own, as they infight, among Muslims, and different nationalities, and sects, just as the many Christians do, and mostly did during the times of the Protestant revolution, and exodus and expulsion.

   • 1985, Alixa Naff, Becoming American: the early Arab immigrant experience, page 307:

     And then each group began to infight on some pretext.

2. (boxing) To box while extremely close to an opponent
   • 2004, Mark Hatmaker, Doug Werner, Boxing Mastery: Advanced Technique, Tactics, and Strategies from the Sweet Science, →ISBN, page 213:

     Be prepared to slip and duck his jab to infight or to counter with a quick punch to the head or body.

   • 2007, Alan Lachica, Doug Werner, Boxing's Ten Commandments, →ISBN, page 29:

     Even if you're giving up reach in order to infight, standing at the end of your opponent's punch (impact position) isn't the way to do it.

   • 2003, Peter B. Kyne, Captain Scraggs; Or, the Green-Pea Pirates, →ISBN, page 252:

     Walker tried hard to close with his opponent, and infight, but by using both hands to good advantage Fus. Scott held his own.

   • 1929, St. George's Gazette - Volume 47, page 247:

     "In a minute," said the commodore faintly. "He's so good I hate to hurt him. But I'll infight him to a finish."

infight (plural infights)

1. An internal battle; a fight with allies or other members of the same group.
   • 2014, Young Whan Kihl, Hong Nack Kim, North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival, →ISBN, page 71:

     The power struggle to establish Kim Il Sung as the sole leader in North Korea took almost a decade, entailing a series of bitter factional infights.

   • 1982, Burghard Dedner, Carl Sternheim, page 92:

     In political terms, the subject of the play is the infight between ultraradical and moderate leftist factions, an infight which has haunted the European leftist movements since the days of the French Revolution.

   • 2011, Jörg Muth, Command Culture: Officer Education in the U.S. Army and the German Armed Forces. 1901-1940, and the Consequences for World War II, →ISBN, page 143:

     The German officer, however, made in his new function as Inspector of Army Motorization an enemy who proved equally ruthless on the battlefield as in the arena of bureaucratic infights—Heinz Guderian.

• fightin'