free-for-all

American  

[free-fer-awl] / ˈfri fərˌɔl /

noun

1. a fight, argument, contest, etc., open to everyone and usually without rules.

   Synonyms:

   donnybrook, melee, scrap, fracas, brawl

2. any competition or contested situation that is disordered, impulsive, or out of control.

   a free-for-all at the buffet table.

3. 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.

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adjective

1. open to everyone.

free-for-all British  

noun

1. informal a disorganized brawl or argument, usually involving all those present

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Etymology

Origin of free-for-all

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

But it’s not a free-for-all piece of personal data for all the family to chew on.

From MarketWatch

But they are not deploying it in a free-for-all; they are deploying it with the discipline of a sovereign-wealth fund.

From MarketWatch

His inspiration was not any architectural theory or school so much as the workaday landscape of Southern California itself, the brash free-for-all he had noticed as soon as he arrived in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

The conference was smaller, with two divisions, instead of today’s free-for-all among 17 teams vying for the top two spots.

From The Wall Street Journal

The dining hall had turned into a free-for-all of chaos.

From Literature

Related Words

• brawl
• brouhaha
• fracas
• melee
• riot