bare-knuckle
adjective or adverb
bare-knuck·le
ˈber-ˈnə-kəl 
variants
or less commonly bare-knuckled
or bare-knuckles
1
: not using boxing gloves
champion bare-knuckle prizefighter of England—
Dennis Craig
Dennis Craigwhen men fought bare-knuckle
2
: having a fierce unrelenting character
bare-knuckle politics
Examples of bare-knuckle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kid is first seen in an ape mask fighting (and losing) bare-knuckle battles in an underground arena run by a sleazy South African (Sharlto Copley).
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Critics accuse Yass of bankrolling an army of lobbyists and orchestrating a bare-knuckle pressure campaign to protect TikTok — including by leveraging his nascent relationship with former President Donald Trump.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024
As the primary approaches, Martinez has unveiled the bare-knuckle tactics common in his political base of Southeast L.A. County.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
To replace him, Mr. Morris facilitated the hiring of the veteran Washington scandal lawyer Abbe Lowell, who is known for bare-knuckle tactics more akin to what Mr. Morris was advocating.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Mullica said such bare-knuckle tactics aren’t a way to win votes, much less friends, in the building.
—Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 13 Jan. 2024
With Triller, the only part that I was really actively involved in and still am is the Fight Club and bare-knuckle boxing, which is now the fastest growing combat sport.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024
The brick building once housed mobsters and bare-knuckle boxers.
—Alex Vadukul, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2023
For years, the Wagner group has protected the leadership of the Central African Republic with bare-knuckle security enforcement, weaponry and propaganda campaigns.
—Elian Peltier Jim Huylebroek, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2023
Ty Burr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Critics accuse Yass of bankrolling an army of lobbyists and orchestrating a bare-knuckle pressure campaign to protect TikTok — including by leveraging his nascent relationship with former President Donald Trump.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024
As the primary approaches, Martinez has unveiled the bare-knuckle tactics common in his political base of Southeast L.A. County.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
To replace him, Mr. Morris facilitated the hiring of the veteran Washington scandal lawyer Abbe Lowell, who is known for bare-knuckle tactics more akin to what Mr. Morris was advocating.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Mullica said such bare-knuckle tactics aren’t a way to win votes, much less friends, in the building.
—Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 13 Jan. 2024
With Triller, the only part that I was really actively involved in and still am is the Fight Club and bare-knuckle boxing, which is now the fastest growing combat sport.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024
The brick building once housed mobsters and bare-knuckle boxers.
—Alex Vadukul, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2023
For years, the Wagner group has protected the leadership of the Central African Republic with bare-knuckle security enforcement, weaponry and propaganda campaigns.
—Elian Peltier Jim Huylebroek, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bare-knuckle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Bare-knuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare-knuckle. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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