roughhouse
[noun ruhf-hous; verb ruhf-hous, -houz]
noun, plural rough·hous·es [ruhf-hou-ziz] /ˈrʌfˌhaʊ zɪz/.
rough, disorderly playing, especially indoors.
verb (used without object), rough·housed [ruhf-houst, -houzd] /ˈrʌfˌhaʊst, -ˌhaʊzd/, rough·hous·ing [ruhf-hou-sing, -zing] /ˈrʌfˌhaʊ sɪŋ, -zɪŋ/.
to engage in rough, disorderly play.
verb (used with object), rough·housed [ruhf-houst, -houzd] /ˈrʌfˌhaʊst, -ˌhaʊzd/, rough·hous·ing [ruhf-hou-sing, -zing] /ˈrʌfˌhaʊ sɪŋ, -zɪŋ/.
to handle roughly but with playful intent: to roughhouse the cat.
Origin of roughhouse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for rough-house
contend, grapple, compete, tangle, wrestle, scuffle, buck, shuffle, romp, contest, brawl, scrap, smack, hassle, battle, slug, row, rough-house, box, fightExamples from the Web for rough-house
Historical Examples of rough-house
By this we mean what can in nowise be so clearly defined as by "rough-house."
The Dramatic Values in PlautusWilton Wallace Blancke
Nana insisted it was a bruise that Leonie had given her when they were having a bit of a rough-house.
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
"Nice work, Chief--it must be a gift to rough-house the way you do," Bradley exclaimed.
TriplanetaryEdward Elmer Smith
In about two seconds there was the biggest kind of a rough-house.
Owen Clancy's Happy TrailBurt L. Standish
My father had saved his life one rough-house night in Valparaiso.
A Son Of The SunJack London
roughhouse
noun
verb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper