SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN
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 forms brawl·er , noun brawl·y , adjective out·brawl , verb (used with object) un·brawl·ing , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for brawling 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 brawling Contemporary Examples of brawling These groups are known for brawling , attacking public figures, and various hate crimes.
He looks nothing like the brawling , expansive prince of before.
For nose-pulling and brawling we have substituted ritual apologies.
Kit took a job cleaning houses and fell for a big, brawling man named Newt McPherson.
Mitchell especially disdained women artists, talented or not, whom she deemed insufficiently macho, boozing, and brawling .
Historical Examples of brawling It was Imogen with whom he wandered beside the brawling rill.
And there was more than a little thievery and brawling and rioting.
I assured him that Maxwell was a quiet Oxford scholar, and incapable of brawling .
So, Baron, you think a Parliament in Russia would be merely a place for brawling .
Please not into the roaring, brawling taverns where life thrives in all its abundance.
British Dictionary definitions for brawling noun a loud disagreement or fight
US slang an uproarious party
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verb (intr) to quarrel or fight noisily; squabble
(esp of water) to flow noisily
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Derived Forms brawler , noun brawling , noun , adjective Word Origin for brawl C14: probably related to Dutch brallen to boast, behave aggressively
noun 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 brawling 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
