feud
1 Americannoun
-
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
-
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 tension at the heart of the primary—and the feud between El-Sayed and Stevens—is less a policy disagreement than a moral one.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
Over the weekend, as Stevens' criticism of El-Sayed escalated, a number of Democratic politicians in Michigan publicly encouraged her to end the feud and back the party's candidates more directly.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
During the campaign she aired a public feud with Flavio, accusing him of mistreating her.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
The one thing Americans love more than a celebrity feud is taking sides and declaring a victor after each round, even if the opponents don’t realize they’re being pitted against each other.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026
“You may not know us, but you know the results of our work. We ended the blood feud in Deliene. We broke Oxscini’s hold on Roku. We united Everica.”
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Unsurprisingly, her current focus is the aforementioned Hasan Piker, a man who is no stranger to controversy and has courted plenty of internet feuds of his own.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Now his social-media feuds are alienating potential allies and frustrating voters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
His feed is packed with public health information, but also with bitter feuds - including with celebrities - conducted in a style many describe as rude.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
In the medieval era, blood feuds carried on for generations; likewise, today’s wars are often rooted in centuries of pain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
No one else dared enter, and while the gyptians kept the peace and traded fairly, file landlopers turned a blind eye to the incessant smuggling and the occasional feuds.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has feuded publicly with Yiannopoulos, celebrated his detention and claimed credit for alerting federal authorities to his immigration status in multiple posts on X.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Instead of collecting trophies, he sued a rival franchise, feuded with fans and—despite his success elsewhere in the entertainment world—relentlessly attacked the NBA itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Members of his team have feuded over policy.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
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
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
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, football’s most iconic sportscaster duo, are allegedly feuding.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026
After more than a decade of public feuding and false starts, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua exchanged pleasantries, traded jokes and even discussed going for a pint at a news conference in London.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 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
Now Kostrzewa, who heads a business union, is appealing to both sides to set the feuding aside and focus on the economy.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Flittman and the horse had been feuding for five years and Evy hoped that one of them would get the decision soon.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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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.
