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.
First recorded in 1785–95
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If EVs are coming for the world, this is the rough-and-tumble frontier.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
The daughter of a Marine father and a trauma nurse mother, Murphy grew up outside of Chicago as a rough-and-tumble kid.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
Indeed, the Maddens found a certain frisson from the get-go in writing about their rough-and-tumble upbringing with a squeaky-clean pop flair.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 12, 2025
On the one hand Klopp's 'heavy metal' football was tamed by an appreciation of territorial dominance, on the other Guardiola used Klopp's ideas to adapt to the rough-and-tumble of Premier League life.
From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025
If there was anything that terrified us as much as getting deported, it was that the principal's office would discover our address scam and send us down the road to the rough-and-tumble streets of Cupertino.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
