skirmish vs struggle

skirmish and struggle both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
skirmish	Yes	No	Yes	No
struggle	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, struggle is a hypernym of skirmish; that is, struggle is a word with a broader meaning than skirmish:

Other hypernyms of skirmish include contend, fight.

skirmish (noun)	struggle (noun)
a minor short-term fight	strenuous effort
	an energetic attempt to achieve something
	an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

skirmish (verb)	struggle (verb)
engage in a skirmish	be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
	to exert strenuous effort against opposition
	climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
	make a strenuous or labored effort