free-for-all
[free-fer-awl]
noun
a fight, argument, contest, etc., open to everyone and usually without rules.
any competition or contested situation that is disordered, impulsive, or out of control: a free-for-all at the buffet table.
Informal. any enterprise or field of endeavor in which various companies, countries, participants, etc., compete without restriction: a price-cutting free-for-all among local stores.
adjective
open to everyone.
RELATED CONTENT
For All Intents and Purposes vs. For All Intensive PurposesBoth for all intents and purposes and for all intensive purposes are widely used to mean “for all practical purposes” or “virtually.” But which one is correct? The standard idiom is for all intents and purposes, not for all intensive purposes, though if you were to say these two forms out loud it might be hard to tell the difference between the two. For all …
RELATED WORDS
melee, brouhaha, riot, fracas, brawl, affray, ruction, battle, broil, fray, row, knock-down-drag-out
Nearby words
- free-cutting,
- free-fall,
- free-fire zone,
- free-floating,
- free-floating anxiety,
- free-form,
- free-hand,
- free-handed,
- free-hearted,
- free-living
Origin of free-for-all
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85
SYNONYMS FOR free-for-all
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for free-for-all
free-for-all
noun
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
free-for-all
"mass brawl" (one in which all may participate), 1881.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper