battle royal

noun \ -rȯi-ˈal \

variants: or battle royale

|Updated on: 29 May 2018

Examples: battle royal in a Sentence

Definition of battle royal

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

1 a : 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

Examples of battle royal in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of battle royal from the Web

In West Virginia and Indiana the Republican Senate primary fights have morphed into multi-candidate battle royals with the combatants focused on one mission: out-Trumping their opponents.

— NBC News, "In Red State primaries, candidates out-Trump each other," 6 May 2018
The film, the 19th installment in Marvel's sprawling series, brings together about two dozen caped crusaders for a 150-minute battle royal.

— NBC News, "'Avengers: Infinity War' by the numbers," 27 Apr. 2018
Of the 50 participants in the Greatest Royal Rumble, the 6-8, 285-pound Corbin knows how to survive and thrive in a battle royal setting.

— jim varsallone, miamiherald, "Baron Corbin talks WWE Greatest Royal Rumble, Bruno, Kane, Undertaker, NFL, XFL, more | Miami Herald," 23 Apr. 2018
With all the backstory and drama clearly leading up to an epic battle royal between the two principles, all the details that don’t help build this narrative can be jettisoned.

— corey seymour, Vogue, "Borg Vs. McEnroe Is The Tennis Movie We’ve Been Waiting For," 13 Apr. 2018
On the other side of the impending battle royal is Hathaway.

— caroline framke, Vox, "The glam new Ocean’s 8 trailer has Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett getting down to business," 12 Apr. 2018
Raw tag team titles The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) vs. Braun Strowman and TBA Strowman won a tag team battle royal by himself to earn the opportunity.

— gene guillot, NOLA.com, "Breaking down the matches for WrestleMania 34," 8 Apr. 2018
Tonight's Royal Rumble is wide open with about a dozen possible ways the 30-man over the top battle royal could play out.

— troy l. smith, cleveland.com, "If Roman Reigns wins the WWE Royal Rumble, Fans may actually riot," 28 Jan. 2018
Wegmans’ service marks the beginning of a battle royal among grocers.

— suzette parmley, Philly.com, "Philly grocery chains raise their delivery game to compete with Amazon's Whole Foods," 9 Feb. 2018

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.