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Synonyms

feud

1 American  
[fyood] / fyud /

noun

  1. Also called blood feud.  a bitter, continuous hostility, especially between two families, clans, etc., often lasting for many years or generations.

  2. a bitter quarrel or contention.

    a feud between labor and management.
    Synonyms:
    difference, argument

verb (used without object)

  1. to engage in a feud.

feud 2 American  
[fyood] / fyud /

noun

  1. fee.

feud 1 British  
/ fjuːd /

noun

  1. long and bitter hostility between two families, clans, or individuals; vendetta

  2. a quarrel or dispute

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to take part in or carry on a feud

"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
feud 2 British  
/ fjuːd /

noun

  1. feudal law land held in return for service

"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

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

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.

Paramount President Jeff Shell has fired back in his ugly feud with a Las Vegas gambler and FBI informant, contending that Robert “R.J.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

He took a break from the war last week to post multiple times on Truth Social about his running feud with the comedian Bill Maher.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2026

Greene's feud with the president began over Trump's initial opposition to releasing the Epstein files - something Greene had vocally campaigned for.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

Weight-loss drugs—a catchall term for Novo’s medications for diabetes and chronic weight management—have been at the center of a continuing feud between the companies.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

Hardred took pity on the two young men, doomed to wander the face of the earth because of a family feud.

From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye

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.