明争暗斗 míngzhēng'àndòu to fight openly and covertly Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 明 míng noun openly openly; publicly; aboveboard (as opposed to 暗 àn secretly)争 爭 zhēng nounverb to strive to strive for; to vie for; to compete for something with others暗斗 暗鬥 àndòu secret struggle a secret struggle; infighting; veiled strife