brawl
Americannoun
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brawls
plural
-
an angry, rough, noisy fight, especially one engaged in under the influence of alcohol.
The wild, free-for-all western brawl in the saloon lasts two full minutes and constitutes the movie’s opening scene.
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Slang. a large, noisy party.
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Obsolete. a bubbling or roaring noise; a clamor.
verb (used without object)
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brawls,
present (3rd person singular)
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brawled,
past participle, past
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brawling
present participle
noun
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a loud disagreement or fight
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slang an uproarious party
verb
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to quarrel or fight noisily; squabble
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(esp of water) to flow noisily
noun
Usage
What does brawl mean? A brawl is a fight, especially a big one involving a lot of people. Brawl can also be used as a verb meaning to fight or to participate in a brawl. A person who does this or who’s known for fighting in general can be called a brawler. Much less commonly, brawl can also be used as a slang term for a wild party. Other rare senses of brawl include its use as a noun referring to a loud, bubbling noise, like water flowing in a stream, or as a verb meaning to make such a noise. Example: Police are investigating the post-concert brawl that left three people in the hospital.
Synonym Usage
See disorder.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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brawlsimple
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brawlssimple
-
have brawledperfect
-
has brawledperfect
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am brawlingprogressive
-
are brawlingprogressive
-
is brawlingprogressive
-
have been brawlingperfect progressive
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has been brawlingperfect progressive
Past
-
brawledsimple
-
had brawledperfect
-
was brawlingprogressive
-
were brawlingprogressive
-
had been brawlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of brawl
First recorded in 1350–1400; (verb) Middle English brawlen, brallen “to raise a clamor, quarrel, boast”; of uncertain origin; (noun) Middle English braule, brall, derivative of the verb
Explanation
A brawl is a noisy fight in a crowd. If the food fight in the cafeteria gets seriously out of hand, you might find yourself in an all-out brawl. Brawl can also be used as a verb—people who are fighting can be said to be brawling, whether or not they are using their fists. Similarly, you can use the word to suggest that a war of words is rough, in the manner of a bar fight—the bride and her mother were engaged in a brawl over the guest list for the big day.
Vocabulary lists containing brawl
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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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.
See Examples For:
The government says that in 2025 more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents were logged by airlines, including a mid-air brawl that resulted in a flight being diverted.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
In the summer of 1954, the house band, Buzz Busby and the Bayou Boys, began to cause a stir, drawing a steady stream of patrons who came to listen to the music instead of brawl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the tournament final, in a foul-heavy match that ended with a brawl on the pitch and the Argentine squad turning its back during the trophy ceremony.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Then he got in another brawl, was imprisoned in Fort St. Angelo, escaped, and was formally expelled by the Order—the recorded language is “like a rotten and fetid limb.”
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2026
I considered myself beyond the stage of street-fighting, and one of the worst things I could do upon returning to the community was to engage in a brawl.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
When the match resumed, brawls were still going on in the stands and Morocco’s Brahim Diaz failed to score with a weakly hit penalty kick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Yes, the participants are super-fit and strong and their bodies endure all manner of injury, but their brawls are not true competitions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2025
Matthew Tkachuk, a Team USA player who was among those involved in the brawls, told reporters afterwards that his team needed to deliver a message that "It's our time right now."
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2025
She rolls with a posse that’s 30-strong, uses warthogs like DoorDash for her tick snacks between brawls, and has a cousin who catches birds with his butt cheeks.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2024
Drawing from sources as diverse as aikido and barroom brawls, the instructors taught us ways to tangle with an attacking or resisting inmate that you weren’t likely to see in, say, a John Wayne movie.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
They’d given everyone a taste of their border feud last year with the NHL’s Four Nations tournament, where they’d brawled and battled before Canada finally settled it on the ice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
This isn’t the first time Whole Foods’ parent company has brawled aggressively with organized labor.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2025
The speaker said his guests for the State of the Union would also include New York City police officers who brawled with migrants in Time Square.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
“So I brawled with the bear, and I ripped him open with my knife, with Colbert cowering in a corner. And when I slit his belly open, Elvis Costello came out dressed as Bob Cratchit.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
He wrote a confidential memorandum to the police, instructing them to look out for rebellious young people who brawled, made mischief, and violated police orders.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
According to legend, it took rough and rugged characters to tame the early American frontier: men like Daniel Boone, the trailblazer, or Mike Fink, the brawling river boatman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
That is a sentiment that might surprise some voters in the UK, but the Taiwanese Parliament has had a reputation for brawling, with punches - and on one occasion pig guts - being thrown.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
Despite our public persona of being dysfunctional and brawling, we were quite quiet in the rehearsal space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
He’s a fairly even-keeled, calm-sounding guy, which makes him a helpful spokesperson to an organization that has big bearded dudes going out fighting and brawling.
From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2023
Meanwhile the Fifth Cohort was brawling with the two-headed men.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
