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ruckus

American  
[ruhk-uhs] / ˈrʌk əs /

noun

  1. a noisy commotion; fracas; rumpus.

    The losers are sure to raise a ruckus.

  2. a heated controversy.

    Newspapers fostered the ruckus by printing the opponents' letters.


ruckus British  
/ ˈrʌkəs /

noun

  1. informal an uproar; ruction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ruckus

1885–90, probably blend of ruction and rumpus

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing ruckus

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.

Compost and Yesenia Morales of Ruckus Roots teach local youth about gardening.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2023

At some point nearly at the beginning of November, an as-yet-unidentified prankster replaced a photo of Uncle Ruckus from "The Boondocks" with a picture of Kanye West wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat.

From Salon • Dec. 22, 2019

Bring Da Ruckus, you gotta call it hip-hop.

From The Guardian • Oct. 26, 2017

The Ruckus group’s official Twitter account retweeted the post, which was deleted Tuesday morning.

From Washington Times • Jun. 6, 2017

Along with BelAir and Ruckus, Cisco has been one of the most active on the carrier WiFi front, leveraging its enterprise WiFi assets and mobile core assets,” said Peter Jarich, an analyst with Current Analysis.

From Forbes • Feb. 28, 2012