affray

1 of 2

noun

af·​fray ə-ˈfrā 

1

archaic : fray, brawl

2

chiefly British : a fight in a public place that disturbs the peace

affray

2 of 2

verb

affrayed; affraying; affrays

transitive verb

archaic

: startle, frighten

Synonyms of affray

Noun

• brawl
• altercation

Examples of affray in a Sentence

Noun

the police had to break up an affray that started between fans of the opposing teams

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Brown’s friend and vocal coach Omololu Akinlolu also pleaded guilty to affray. — CNN Money, 24 July 2026

Brown and Akinlolu both previously pleaded not guilty to those charges, and at a short hearing Friday, the pair pleaded guilty to a charge of affray, while the more serious charges were dropped by the court, the BBC reports. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 24 July 2026

Chris Brown is not affray-ed to admit to comparatively minor faults. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 July 2026

But after Brown and Akinlolu pleaded guilty to the charge of affray, prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe said the other charges would not proceed to trial. — Sam Tobin, USA Today, 24 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English afray, affray "fright, consternation, assault, brawl," borrowed from Anglo-French effrei, esfrei, affrai, noun derivative of esfreier, effreier, affraier "to frighten, startle" — more at affray entry 2

Verb

Middle English afraien, affraien "to disturb, frighten, attack, brawl," borrowed from Anglo-French esfreier, effreier, (with prefix alternation) affreer, affraier "to frighten, startle," going back to Gallo-Romance *exfridāre, from Latin ex- ex- entry 1 + Gallo-Romance *-fridāre, derivative from Old Low Franconian *friðu "peace, tranquility," going back to Germanic *friþu- (whence Old English friþ "peace, security, protection," Old Saxon friđu, Old High German fridu, Old Norse friðr), derivative, with the suffix *-tu-, of *fri(j)a- free entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

affray

noun

af·​fray

ə-ˈfrā

: a noisy quarrel or fight

Legal Definition

affray

noun

af·​fray ə-ˈfrā 

: a fight between two or more people in a public place that disturbs the peace

Etymology

Noun

Middle French affrai, effrai fright, disturbance, from affraier, effreer to terrify