rough-and-tumble

[ ruhf-uhn-tuhm-buhl ]

/ ˈrʌf ənˈtʌm bəl /

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See synonyms for rough-and-tumble on Thesaurus.com

adjective

characterized by violent, random, disorderly action and struggles: a rough-and-tumble fight; He led an adventuresome, rough-and-tumble life.

given to such action.

noun

rough and unrestrained competition, fighting, struggling, etc.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of rough-and-tumble

First recorded in 1785–95

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rough-and-tumble in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Terrorism is bad news anywhere, but especially rough on Odessa, where the city motto seems to be “make love, not war.”
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Gurley was gunned down on Nov. 20, when a pair of cops was patrolling the rough housing project.
Protesters Demand Justice For Gurley As Gap Grows Between Cops and NYC|M.L. Nestel|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
The camp grew still, except for the rough and ready cook pottering about the fire, boiling buffalo-meat and mixing biscuit-dough.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
It was only a hut of rough boards, carelessly knocked together for a shepherd's temporary home.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
He reached up for her big, rough straw hat that hung on a peg outside the door, and put it on her head.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin

British Dictionary definitions for rough-and-tumble

rough-and-tumble

noun

a fight or scuffle without rules

adjective

characterized by roughness, disorderliness, and disregard for rules or conventions

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with rough-and-tumble

rough and tumble

Disorderly scuffling or infighting, as in She had some reservations about entering the rough and tumble of local politics. This expression originated in the late 1700s in boxing, where it referred to a fight without rules. [Mid-1800s]

rough-and-tumble

Origin of rough-and-tumble

Words related to rough-and-tumble

How to use rough-and-tumble in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rough-and-tumble

Other Idioms and Phrases with rough-and-tumble