enemies

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of enemy.

   Old enemies set aside their differences to face the common threat.

   The general studied his enemies for weaknesses before the battle.

   Note

   The everyday plural, made by the usual change of final -y to -ies after a consonant, as in armies and allies. It carries every sense of the singular: personal foes, hostile forces, harmful things, even the characters that attack a player in a game. One use resists it. Before another noun the singular stays, so it is enemy lines and enemy troops, never enemies lines.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of enemy. This verb is rare and old-fashioned.

   Note

   A spelling shared with the plural noun, but here it is a verb: enemy in the sense "to make an enemy of," and it takes a direct object. Position tells the two apart. After a singular subject and before an object (she enemies her rivals), it is the verb. After an article or adjective (the old enemies), it is the noun.

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