battle royal

noun

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\ -rȯi-ˈal

variants: or battle royale

plural battles royal or battle royals or battles royale or battle royales

Definition of battle royal

1a : a fight participated in by more than two combatants especially : one in which the last fighter in the ring or the last fighter standing is declared the winner

b : a violent struggle

2 : a heated dispute

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Examples of battle royal in a Sentence

the dysfunctional couple next door had another one of their battles royal last night

Recent Examples on the Web This sets up a battle royal that also turns out to be, approximately, a battle of the sexes. — Helen Shaw, Vulture, "The Main Reason to Watch I Care a Lot Is Rosamund Pike," 19 Feb. 2021 One of the most ardent supporters of last month’s surprise Air Force decision to award the future permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command to Alabama admits there’s going to be a political battle royal to keep it there. — Jamie Mcintyre, Washington Examiner, "Austin to face a barrage of questions at first Pentagon news conference," 18 Feb. 2021 But with the three podium finishers in Zagreb in fine form and with Shiffrin returning to her best the stage is set for a battle royal for medals in the slalom and giant slalom races at the championships. — Paul Gittings, CNN, "Petra Vlhova crowned 'Snow Queen' as Mikaela Shiffrin takes fourth," 3 Jan. 2021 This is the political equivalent to a battle royal. — Brendan Farrington, orlandosentinel.com, "Suit seeks to nullify Florida ballot Amendment 3 question on primaries," 13 Oct. 2020 This is the political equivalent to a battle royal. — Brendan Farrington, sun-sentinel.com, "Florida Supreme Court asked to nullify ballot question about opening primaries to all voters," 13 Oct. 2020 If that argument succeeds, the stage could be set for a battle royal over the population numbers that Mr. Trump would send to the House for use in reapportionment before his term ends. — Michael Wines, New York Times, "Ruling Against Shortening Count Adds to Questions Raised About Census," 25 Sep. 2020 The second season was both sharper and funnier than the first, with a season-finale battle royal in which the spoils went to the patient folks at home. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: A 2020 Emmy Awards list for the captive home audience," 18 Sep. 2020 Bloomberg's qualification now sets up a battle royal of sorts. — Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner, "Bloomberg qualifies for Nevada debate, beating Biden in national poll," 18 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'battle royal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.