Synonyms

fighting words

Idioms

A statement bound to start a quarrel or fight. It is often expressed as them's fighting words, as in You say your father's smarter than mine? Them's fighting words. The ungrammatical use of them's for “those are” emphasizes the folksy tone of this colloquialism, first recorded in Ring Lardner's Gullible's Travels (1917).

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:

fighting words

These are fighting words, and we can safely assume that Jackson does not use them lightly.

From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2025

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has had some fighting words for Google, too.

From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2024

Those are fighting words for Barry, a 5-foot-9 senior who also plays for the City Section Division III championship soccer team and runs track.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023

It's about one company claiming that another company's defamatory actions caused it to lose business, not about "fighting words" or incitement to violence.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2023

In spite of her brave deed and fighting words, she was frightened.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023