come to blows

Idioms  

1. Begin to fight. For example, It hardly seems worth coming to blows over a dollar! Thomas Hobbes had it in Leviathan (1651): “Their controversie must either come to blowes, or be undecided.” This term is also put as fall to blows, especially in Britain. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

come to blows

It’s “monkey see, monkey do,” she said, adding that she’s seen people nearly come to blows after drivers cut the line to snag a valuable spot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025

In 2022, Liam told Logan Paul's podcast that things had almost come to blows.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024

But Medellín Legorreta worries the two heavyweights may come to blows as forest fragmentation worsens and climate change brings further warming and prolonged droughts.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 11, 2023

The bitter and expensive contest saw two candidates nearly come to blows on a debate stage.

From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2022

But Haie is rather the executive arm, operating under Kat’s orders when things come to blows.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque