battle royale

Also last man stand·ing

[bat-l roi-al]

noun

plural

battle royales, battles royale 

1. a fight, often to the death, in which more than two combatants are engaged and the victor is the last surviving participant.

2. battle royal.

adjective

1. of or relating to a genre of fiction, television show, movie, or video game that features this kind of elimination fight to the death: a battle royale movie trilogy set in a dystopian future.

   battle royale FPS games;

   a battle royale movie trilogy set in a dystopian future.

Word History and Origins

Origin of battle royale¹

First recorded in 1830–40; originally a variant spelling of battle royal ( def. )