feud
1 Americannoun
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Also called blood feud. a bitter, continuous hostility, especially between two families, clans, etc., often lasting for many years or generations.
-
a bitter quarrel or contention.
a feud between labor and management.
- Synonyms:
- difference, argument
verb (used without object)
-
feuds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feuded,
past participle, past
-
feuding
present participle
noun
noun
-
long and bitter hostility between two families, clans, or individuals; vendetta
-
a quarrel or dispute
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
feudsimple
-
feudssimple
-
have feudedperfect
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has feudedperfect
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am feudingprogressive
-
are feudingprogressive
-
is feudingprogressive
-
have been feudingperfect progressive
-
has been feudingperfect progressive
Past
-
feudedsimple
-
had feudedperfect
-
was feudingprogressive
-
were feudingprogressive
-
had been feudingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of feud1
1300–50; variant of fead ( a misread as u ), Middle English fede < Middle French fe ( i ) de < Old High German fēhida; cognate with Old English fǣhth enmity. See foe, -th 1
Origin of feud2
1605–15; < Medieval Latin feudum, variant of feodum. See fee
Explanation
A feud is a long-standing fight, often between two families. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare describes the lovers' long-feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Feuds do not have to be violent—what characterizes them is long-standing hostility. Ethnic groups can sometimes be said to be feuding. Kids in school who refuse to sit at the same lunch table over a period of years could describe their relationship as a feud.
Vocabulary lists containing feud
Beowulf vocabulary
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"Romeo and Juliet" and "West Side Story"
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"The Interlopers" and "An Interview with the King of Terror"
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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 feud led to Atleti fans jeering their own player on his return to club action after the summer World Cup in a 2-2 home draw with Villarreal on Sunday.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
That often-less-heralded side of Scott has been there from his first feature, 1977’s “The Duellists,” which sets an obsessive two-man feud against the sweep of the Napoleonic Wars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, left Britain for North America in 2020 amid a bitter feud with his family, which worsened as Harry published his tell-all memoir "Spare".
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The resort canceled his stay, leading to a viral feud.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Trashrats always had some kind of blood feud playing out, and any animal with half a brain knew better than to get involved.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Prince Harry, who relocates back to Britain shortly with his family, will open a new chapter in his ever-eventful life which once seemed improbable amid royal feuds, battles over security and lawsuits against UK tabloids.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
But Wall Street Journal readers ranked this grudge match far behind some of the famous feuds of U.S. sports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“Neighbor disputes are a great leveler,” says Harrison Fishman, who co-directs this gonzo excursion into neighborhood feuds with Dylan Redford.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
The figures and feuds are too numerous to list, but they share a common intensity.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2026
Stripping away the popular image of serene, silver-bearded wisdom, Rita Skeeter reveals the disturbed childhood, the lawless youth, the lifelong feuds, and the guilty secrets that Dumbledore carried to his grave.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Benjamin Latrobe, who replaced Thornton as architect of the Capitol, feuded with Commissioner of Public Buildings Samuel Lane, who had a disabled arm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The Supreme Court ruling, which was made public on Tuesday, involved a former couple - two women - who had feuded over plans to sell their house and lot in suburban Manila.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
Other critics included far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is Jewish and who has feuded with both Carlson and Fuentes in recent months.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2025
No cause of death was given for Sullivan, who feuded with Hulk Hogan.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2025
She had feuded for years with another picker named Bertha, who finally put a curse on her.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Much of the book describes feuding in the letters pages and common rooms of the British left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
A seer whose talent only seemed to arise when she needed to share bad news, Helaena was an unwelcome presence in her feuding family.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
In the 2008 film “Rudo y Cursi,” the actors played feuding brothers with dreams of playing soccer professionally.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
No talk of superintelligent machines, no public feuding, just one question: can it make money?
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Werfel considered telling the whole story, which involved feuding families, a cruel son, a jade amulet, and a burning salamander, but it didn’t really seem like a good time.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
