free-for-all
Americannoun
-
a fight, argument, contest, etc., open to everyone and usually without rules.
- Synonyms:
- donnybrook, melee, scrap, fracas, brawl
-
any competition or contested situation that is disordered, impulsive, or out of control.
a free-for-all at the buffet table.
-
Informal. any enterprise or field of endeavor in which various companies, countries, participants, etc., compete without restriction.
a price-cutting free-for-all among local stores.
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of free-for-all
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"If that doesn't get given as a penalty, then it's an absolute free-for-all from now on," Moyes said after the game.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
“Is God Is” isn’t the kind of rollicking free-for-all that will have you cheering in the theater.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Yet any process of ramping up production won’t be as much of a free-for-all as it may have been in the past.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
“It’s not a free-for-all; there are still rules in place. The extra guardrails have gotten a little looser,” Cottrill said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
The field at Indian Creek was a free-for-all in the afternoons; there were no fences around the property, and neighborhood teenagers were constantly popping out of the surrounding woods.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
