Definition of "pitched battle" [pitched battle]

• An intense battle fought in close contact by troops arranged in a predetermined formation. (noun)
• A fiercely waged battle or struggle between opposing forces. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Over four years of war Philadelphia had been garrisoned, invaded, and occupied by the enemy, but the first pitched battle to occur within the confines of the city had taken place between factions of her own citizens."
• "Viriathus was too shrewd to fight a pitched battle as the Romans wished."
• "It was Crassuss dream and Spartacuss nightmare: a pitched battle against the Roman army."