lutter
struggle, fight
verb loo-TEH Less Common
Origin: Latin luctari (to wrestle)
Also means
wrestle
Usage Note
Lutter is used for both physical wrestling (lutter corps à corps) and figurative struggles — lutter contre la pauvreté (to fight poverty). The noun lutte (feminine) means 'struggle', 'fight', or the sport of wrestling. Lutteur/lutteuse is a wrestler. The word carries a more determined, sustained connotation than se battre (to fight).
Examples
"Ils luttent contre la corruption depuis des années."
Natural Translation
They have been fighting corruption for years.

Free starter pack
Building your French vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore French by topic
FrenchNow
7 min read