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brawl

[brawl]
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noun
  1. a noisy quarrel, squabble, or fight.
  2. a bubbling or roaring noise; a clamor.
  3. Slang. a large, noisy party.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to quarrel angrily and noisily; wrangle.
  2. to make a bubbling or roaring noise, as water flowing over a rocky bed.
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Origin of brawl

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English brawlen, brallen to raise a clamor, quarrel, boast; of uncertain origin; (noun) Middle English braule, brall, derivative of the noun
Related formsbrawl·er, nounbrawl·y, adjectiveout·brawl, verb (used with object)un·brawl·ing, adjective

Synonyms

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1. wrangle, row, tumult, affray, altercation, rumpus. 4. squabble, fight, bicker, row.

Synonym study

1. See disorder.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for brawl

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • What means this brawl in the open streets at this late hour?

    Calderon The Courtier

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • He repaired to Berlin, and was killed there in a brawl at a gambling den.

    Fruitfulness

    Emile Zola

  • Does it become you to brawl with my garrison the moment you are admitted?

    Love-at-Arms

    Raphael Sabatini

  • Only remembering that if he plunder or brawl, I may have to leave him hanging on the next bush.'

    Two Penniless Princesses

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • A drinking den where violent men gather to brawl and gamble.

British Dictionary definitions for brawl

brawl1

noun
  1. a loud disagreement or fight
  2. US slang an uproarious party
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verb (intr)
  1. to quarrel or fight noisily; squabble
  2. (esp of water) to flow noisily
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Derived Formsbrawler, nounbrawling, noun, adjective

Word Origin

C14: probably related to Dutch brallen to boast, behave aggressively

brawl2

noun
  1. a dance: the English version of the branle
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for brawl

v.

late 14c., braulen "to cry out, scold, quarrel," probably related to Dutch brallen "to boast," or from French brailler "to shout noisily," frequentative of braire "to bray" (see bray (v.)). Meaning "quarrel, wrangle, squabble" is from early 15c. Related: Brawled; brawling.

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n.

mid-15c., from brawl (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper