roughhouse

American  

[ruhf-hous, ruhf-hous, -houz] / ˈrʌfˌhaʊs, ˈrʌfˌhaʊs, -ˌhaʊz /

noun

roughhouses plural

1. rough, disorderly playing, especially indoors.

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verb (used without object)

roughhoused, roughhousing

1. to engage in rough, disorderly play.

verb (used with object)

roughhoused, roughhousing

1. to handle roughly but with playful intent.

   to roughhouse the cat.

roughhouse British  

/ ˈrʌfˌhaʊs /

noun

1. rough, disorderly, or noisy behaviour

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verb

1. to treat (someone) in a boisterous or rough way

Etymology

Origin of roughhouse

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; rough + house

Example Sentences

There, he and friends would roughhouse in front yards, church playgrounds ... any place they could.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2024

Alex Wolff stars as Tom, a sophomore at a Southern liberal arts school shirking his studies to romp and roughhouse with his fraternity brothers in the fictional Kappa Nu Alpha.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2023

Now here comes Kansas, hurled atop the roughhouse West Region and told to function as best it can.

From Washington Post • Mar. 15, 2023

The elves roughhouse them down a slide that definitely doesn't appear to be up to code.

From Salon • Dec. 13, 2022

Finally, she’d found a playmate she could roughhouse with.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan