From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhand-to-handˌhand-to-ˈhand adjective [only before noun] WARhand-to-hand fighting is a way of fighting in which people use their hands and knives rather than gunshand-to-hand fighting/combat etc There was fierce hand-to-hand fighting in the streets of the city. They were defeated in hand-to-hand combat.
Examples from the Corpus
hand-to-hand• Once engaged in hand-to-hand combat in this way the Squig Hopper is pinioned to the ground and does not move away.• Your army contains troops which are very good in hand-to-hand combat - use them to spearhead your advance.• The other imagines a fictional battle, with Napoleon's army in hand-to-hand combat with the fort's defenders.• Infantry, he added, deliberately placed themselves in positions where they would be engaged in hand-to-hand combat.• Magic swords are a good investment because anything that improves your hand-to-hand fighting abilities is a good idea.• Enemy models attempting to fight against the chariot in hand-to-hand fighting always compare their weapon skill against that of the crew.• The Covenanters drew swords and spears, advanced on to the soft ground, and engaged the Dragoons in bloody hand-to-hand fighting.• All hits against the chariot in hand-to-hand or shooting are randomly allocated as shown below.hand-to-hand fighting/combat etc• Infantry, he added, deliberately placed themselves in positions where they would be engaged in hand-to-hand combat.• The Covenanters drew swords and spears, advanced on to the soft ground, and engaged the Dragoons in bloody hand-to-hand fighting.• Magic swords are a good investment because anything that improves your hand-to-hand fighting abilities is a good idea.• Enemy models attempting to fight against the chariot in hand-to-hand fighting always compare their weapon skill against that of the crew.• Once engaged in hand-to-hand combat in this way the Squig Hopper is pinioned to the ground and does not move away.• This gives 1 extra attack, worked out immediately prior to hand-to-hand combat regardless of initiative levels or which side charged.• Your army contains troops which are very good in hand-to-hand combat - use them to spearhead your advance.• The other imagines a fictional battle, with Napoleon's army in hand-to-hand combat with the fort's defenders. 