ruckus
Americannoun
-
a noisy commotion; fracas; rumpus.
The losers are sure to raise a ruckus.
-
a heated controversy.
Newspapers fostered the ruckus by printing the opponents' letters.
noun
Etymology
Origin of ruckus
Compare meaning
How does ruckus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you raise a ruckus you make a lot of noise. A ruckus can be the sound of an argument, the noise of soccer fans celebrating a victory, or it could be two-year-olds banging on pots and pans. Ruckus sounds like what it means — loud and maybe a little rowdy. A ruckus is the uproar you cause when you noisily protest the new cafeteria menu or a bad call against your favorite team. Cats fighting outside your window in the middle of the night could also cause a ruckus. You can also raise a quiet ruckus with your letters to the editor or silent sit-ins that instantly go viral.
Vocabulary lists containing ruckus
Mayhem! Chaos! Pandemonium!
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Chains
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This Week in Words: January 20 - 26, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thiaw, meanwhile, had his media briefing cancelled after a ruckus broke out in the press room.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
Surely you’ve heard about it by now—the ruckus over deliberate losing and the lengths to which teams go to get a shot at a top draft pick.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026
Those renovations raised a brief ruckus over the summer after Administration officials such as Russ Vought of the Office of Management and Budget accused the Fed of running over budget on a needlessly grandiose project.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026
Efforts to silence people who create a ruckus suggest that “the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master.”
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2025
And when Jaya and Jad heard the ruckus coming from the barn, they silently sneaked over to investigate.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
