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
Perry is a former mixed martial arts fighter and is 5-0 as a bare-knuckle fighter.
—Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 20 July 2024
Trump, Biden's predecessor and Republican opponent in this year's bare-knuckles presidential contest, was wounded Saturday afternoon after a gunman opened fire at a political rally in Pennsylvania.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024
After four recent arrests in a long history of violations, state officials are pressing to deter election fraud and absentee ballot cheating in the future in bare-knuckle elections in Bridgeport.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2024
Mastro, a veteran of the Giuliani administration known for this bare-knuckle legal style, got love from the Adams administration just hours after the release of the caucus’ statement.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 23 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bare-knuckle 
Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 20 July 2024
Trump, Biden's predecessor and Republican opponent in this year's bare-knuckles presidential contest, was wounded Saturday afternoon after a gunman opened fire at a political rally in Pennsylvania.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024
After four recent arrests in a long history of violations, state officials are pressing to deter election fraud and absentee ballot cheating in the future in bare-knuckle elections in Bridgeport.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2024
Mastro, a veteran of the Giuliani administration known for this bare-knuckle legal style, got love from the Adams administration just hours after the release of the caucus’ statement.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 23 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bare-knuckle
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 27 Jul. 2024.
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