brawl

[brawl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brawl ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a noisy quarrel, squabble, or fight.

a bubbling or roaring noise; a clamor.

Slang. a large, noisy party.

verb (used without object)

to quarrel angrily and noisily; wrangle.

to make a bubbling or roaring noise, as water flowing over a rocky bed.

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 for brawl

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brawl ON THESAURUS.COM

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. 2019

Related Words for brawl

squabble, clash, riot, argument, ruckus, scuffle, fight, feud, melee, wrangle, altercation, fracas, uproar, battle, dispute, free-for-all, quarrel, bickering, tussle, bicker

Examples from the Web for brawl

Contemporary Examples of brawl

Good news: so is this grainy TMZ footage of a Bieber/Bloom Ibiza brawl.
Solange Smacks Jay Z, Legolas Slaps Bieber, and the Biggest Celebrity Feuds of the Year
Amy Zimmerman
December 24, 2014
If anyone could have stopped the Everest brawl of April 27, 2013, it was Arnot.
Breaking Mount Everest’s Glass Ceiling
Amanda Padoan, Peter Zuckerman
March 30, 2014
Just think of all the fun the political media will have with another Republican-on-Republican brawl, groans Fleischer.
Lean In, Liz Cheney, but Please Don’t Win That Senate Seat
Michelle Cottle
July 18, 2013
In 2000, Lewis was involved in a brawl that resulted in the stabbing deaths of two men.
Football, Crime, and Allegations Against Aaron Hernandez
Ben Teitelbaum
June 21, 2013
When Happy his taunted, his game suffers, and Barker is none too pleased, leading to a brawl for the ages.
21 Best Celebrity Self-Parodies in Honor of ‘This is the End’
Marlow Stern
June 11, 2013

Historical Examples of brawl

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.
Nicanor - Teller of Tales
C. Bryson Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for brawl

brawl

noun

a loud disagreement or fight

US slang an uproarious party

verb (intr)

to quarrel or fight noisily; squabble

(esp of water) to flow noisily

Derived Formsbrawler, nounbrawling, noun, adjective

Word Origin for brawl

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

brawl

noun

a dance: the English version of the branle

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

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.

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