brawl

verb \ ˈbrȯl \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of brawl

intransitive verb

1 : to quarrel or fight noisily : wrangle

soccer fans brawling in the streets

2 : to make a loud confused noise

the Miami river … brawled over 25 feet of rapids
—Marjory S. Douglas

—

brawler

noun

See brawl defined for English-language learners

See brawl defined for kids

Examples of brawl in a Sentence

Fans were brawling in the streets after the game.
the Wilsons were always loudly brawling, and the neighbors were always shutting their windows

Recent Examples of brawl from the Web

The nation had seen a convention where Democratic delegates cursed one another on the floor as their partisans brawled with police in the streets.

— patrick j. buchanan, WSJ, "With Nixon in ’68: The Year America Came Apart," 5 Apr. 2018
Burly big men - UM’s Moritz Wagner and Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig - brawled like bull elephants; 3-pointers were mostly an afterthought; neither team shot better than 43 percent.

— nick moyle, San Antonio Express-News, "Beilein, Michigan chasing what Wright, Villanova already have," 1 Apr. 2018
Within without confronting him, brawling with him, and putting him behind bars.

— scott meslow, GQ, "Batman: The Enemy Within," 30 Mar. 2018
KOMO News reported that protesters on different sides brawled -- prompting police to use pepper spray and make a few arrests.

— aimee green, OregonLive.com, "Skirmishes break out at Patriot Prayer rally at UW, police make arrests," 10 Feb. 2018
On Sunday, Konecny limped off the ice on successive shifts after standing in front of shots, then later brawled with a player, T.J. Oshie, who outweighed him by a good 30 pounds.

— sam donnellon, Philly.com, "Flyers face balancing act with Travis Konecny's dynamic play | Sam Donnellon," 23 Mar. 2018
Soon enough, both sides are brawling, signs in-hand.

— ariana romero, refinery29.com, "Grown-ish Season 1, Episode 11 Recap: "Safe & Sound"," 15 Mar. 2018
Fighting broke out before the event officially began, and the brawling went on for about an hour until an unlawful assembly was declared and the crowd was forced to disband.

— sarah rankin, BostonGlobe.com, "Charlottesville car attack witness sues Alex Jones, others," 13 Mar. 2018
The brawling Brisker lived above a Toledo bar in his college days and once came storming downstairs to aid Mix when a fight nearly broke out.

— bill livingston, cleveland.com, "Toledo Rockets shoot for the stars again in MAC Tournament: Bill Livingston," 9 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of brawl

Middle English brawlen, brallen, of uncertain origin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

brawl Synonyms

Phrases

bandy words, butt heads, lock horns, mix it up;

brawl

noun

Definition of brawl

1 : a noisy quarrel or fight

a brawl broke out among the fans

a barroom brawl

2 : a loud tumultuous noise

the spring run became quite a trout brook and its tiny murmur a loud brawl
—John Burroughs

Examples of brawl in a Sentence

they were thrown out of the party after starting a brawl
the student drama society's decision to put on the controversial play prompted a brawl at the school board meeting

Recent Examples of brawl from the Web

The bill, backed by labor unions and consumer groups, is certain to rouse fierce opposition from physicians and hospitals, setting the stage for a brawl between some of the Capitol's top lobbying heavyweights.

— melanie mason, latimes.com, "An ambitious California bill would put the state in charge of controlling prices in the commercial healthcare market," 9 Apr. 2018
The Bums-Celtics dust-up made national headlines, but the biggest brawl occurred during Game 4 of a best-of-seven playoff series between the Spurs and the Nets in 1976, the ABA's final year.

— from express-news archives, San Antonio Express-News, "HemisFair Arena was where Spurs first scored with S.A. fans," 7 Apr. 2018
The brawl has raised more than $200,000 and funded literacy projects, including computer laboratories.

— michael klein, Philly.com, "Burger Brawl coming in June for Year 8," 19 Mar. 2018
Instead the brawl over the 2016 election has become a blood feud in which the facts seem irrelevant.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "The McCabe March Madness," 18 Mar. 2018
Preciado, playing for Independiente del Valle, sprinted to the corner spot as the brawl escalated and pulled the flag from the pitch to stave off the River Plate players.

— andrew joseph, For The Win, "Ecuador player uses corner flag as a spear during massive soccer brawl," 22 Feb. 2018
Videos and photos from the brawl made the rounds on social media this weekend, painting a frightening picture of passengers caught up in the melee (and security guards using extreme force to break things up).

— laura dannen redman, Condé Nast Traveler, "Carnival Cruise Line Has 'Zero Tolerance' for Unruly Passengers," 19 Feb. 2018
An Afghan migrant is believed to have fired shots, setting off a brawl between the Afghan and predominantly Eritrean migrants who had gathered for the meals, according to French media accounts.

— james mcauley, Washington Post, "Clash between migrant groups in French port city leaves 22 injured," 2 Feb. 2018
Get ready for a ward battle between two Council members A coming brawl for ward leader in Northwest Philadelphia is giving us déjà vu.

— Philly.com, "Mayor Kenney refuses to say how much taxpayers spent on Eagles parade | Clout," 23 Mar. 2018