brawl

1 of 2

verb

ˈbrȯl 

brawled; brawling; brawls

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

brawl

2 of 2

noun

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

Synonyms of brawl

Verb

• bicker
• fight
• argue
• spat
• quarrel
• clash
• squabble
• dispute

Noun

• clash
• altercation
• melee
• skirmish
• affray
• rough-and-tumble
• fracas
• ruckus
• row

Examples of brawl in a Sentence

Verb

Fans were brawling in the streets after the game.

the Wilsons were always loudly brawling, and the neighbors were always shutting their windows

Noun

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 on the Web

Verb

Combs was previously placed in solitary confinement after brawling with another inmate back in July. — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026

Latino culture typecasts hombres as eternal machos always a few drinks away from brawling or bawling. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Noun

LaBeouf faced additional legal turmoil for his arrests in February after his involvement in a Mardi Gras brawl. — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

The Rek Humanoid Robot Fighting League is a fighting organization that hosts humanoid robot versus robot brawls in an undersized MMA cage. — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English brawlen, brallen, of uncertain origin

Noun

Middle English braule, brall, noun derivative of brawlen "to brawl entry 1"

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing brawl

• barroom brawl

Rhymes for brawl

• ahl
• all
• aul
• bawl
• call
• caul
• crawl
• dol
• doll
• drawl
• fall
• gall

Kids Definition

brawl

verb

ˈbrȯl

1

: to quarrel noisily : wrangle

2

: to make a loud confused noise

brawl noun

brawler noun