battle royal
noun
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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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Synonyms for battle royal
Synonyms
altercation, argument, bicker, brawl, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, donnybrook, falling-out, fight, hassle, imbroglio, misunderstanding, quarrel, rhubarb, row, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle
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Examples of battle royal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The match will be a Royal Rumble format (with wrestlers entering at set intervals of time) rather than a battle royal format (with all the wrestlers beginning in the ring at the same time). — Dan Gartland, SI.com, "Full List of Greatest Royal Rumble Match Participants," 26 Apr. 2018 Yet the powers that be want to pit Teddy against his family in a theatrical battle royal for the audience’s amusement. — Trevor Fraser, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Burlypicks returns to Orlando to crown the best in burlesque," 13 June 2018 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. 2018These 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.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
Them's Fightin' Words
Them's Fightin' Words
8 Words to describe a brawl
Dictionary Entries near battle royal
Statistics for battle royal
Last Updated
21 Aug 2018
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Time Traveler for battle royal
The first known use of battle royal was in 1671
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