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• rough-and-tumble
  rough-and-tumble

  adjective

  characterized by violent, random, disorderly action and struggles.
• 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

American  

[ruhf-uhn-tuhm-buhl] / ˈrʌf ənˈtʌm bəl /

adjective

1. characterized by violent, random, disorderly action and struggles.

   a rough-and-tumble fight; He led an adventuresome, rough-and-tumble life.

2. given to such action.

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noun

1. rough and unrestrained competition, fighting, struggling, etc.

rough-and-tumble British  

noun

1. a fight or scuffle without rules

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adjective

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

rough and tumble Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of rough-and-tumble

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

If EVs are coming for the world, this is the rough-and-tumble frontier.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

In 1576 a theater rose in a rough-and-tumble London neighborhood.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Whether it’s about Indigenous people and what they had to go through under cowboys, or reclaiming the cowboy spirit of what America was built on — this kind of rough-and-tumble existence.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2025

Sloan’s rough-and-tumble peekaboo game is exemplary for a first-timer.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025

The rough-and-tumble street life has an energy about it that’s unlike anything else.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Related Words

• disorderly
• rough
• rugged
• strenuous
• tempestuous
• turbulent