brawl

verb \ ˈbrȯl \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: brawl in a Sentence

Definition of brawl

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

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

Upset, the suspect followed them inside and started brawling with the man who owns the trailer.

— keri blakinger, Houston Chronicle, "Man shot in face after drunken dispute in SE Harris County trailer," 17 June 2018
Nintendo says the latest installation of its cross-title brawling franchise will feature every character that’s ever been in the series (but there’s still no Waluigi, to the dismay of some).

— alex fitzpatrick, Time, "7 Games Revealed at E3 2018 That We Can't Wait to Play," 14 June 2018
It‘s similar to the Batman: Arkham series type of brawling that’s heavy on quick combos and clever gadgets like bombs and bullets made of web.

— chaim gartenberg, The Verge, "Spider-Man on PS4 nails the most important thing: web-swinging," 14 June 2018
Toese, who is 6-foot-3 and more than 300 pounds, has regularly brawled with antifascist activists at rallies and was arrested twice by police in Portland last year during protests.

— shane dixon kavanaugh, OregonLive.com, "Antifa, Patriot Prayer plan opposing demonstrations Sunday in downtown Portland," 1 June 2018
The men began to brawl and another passenger leapt up to intervene before Felix was restrained by flight crew.

— janine puhak, Fox News, "American Airlines passenger sparks mid-flight brawl after denied beer, threatening to kill seatmate," 26 May 2018
Both starting pitchers and three other players were ejected after the Padres and Rockies brawled in the bottom of the third inning Wednesday at Coors Field.

— kevin acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Padres, Rockies brawl after multiple batters hit by pitches," 11 Apr. 2018
Citing a spike in public safety calls, the Southwest Alaska hub city of Bethel is brawling with a major Bush retailer over the renewal of a liquor license for the town's only currently operating liquor store.

— alex demarban, Anchorage Daily News, "Bethel battles Alaska Commercial over liquor license amid tense debate on local alcohol sales," 2 Apr. 2018
Last season as members of the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos, the pair ended up brawling in a November game and earned two-game suspensions.

— the baltimore sun, baltimoresun.com, "Ravens, Rams to hold joint practices leading up to Aug. 9 preseason game," 12 Apr. 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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 Suns and New York Knicks engaged in a bench-clearing brawl triggered when Kevin Johnson and Doc Rivers went nose-to-nose and Greg Anthony came off the New York bench in street clothes to go after KJ.

— azcentral, "Arizona Republic staff's best memories of 1992-93 Phoenix Suns," 16 June 2018
But the 30-year-old and former Miami Marlins pitcher made the rounds again on Saturday after being involved in a bench-clearing brawl during a game with the independent Can-Am league between Latos' New Jersey Jackals and the Rockland Boulders.

— jordan mcpherson, miamiherald, "This former Marlins pitcher was at the center of an independent baseball league brawl," 11 June 2018
The teams then engaged in a brawl behind the net, reflecting the unbearable tension with the Cup on the line.

— greg beacham, Houston Chronicle, "Capitals defeat Golden Knights to earn first Stanley Cup in franchise history," 7 June 2018
Brayden McNabb received two minutes for cross-checking T.J. Oshie, which resulted in a brawl.

— tyler horka, SI.com, "Stanley Cup Final: Capitals Roll to Game 4 Win, 3-1 Series Lead Over Golden Knights," 4 June 2018
One clip shows him drilling a Montreal Expos outfielder named Henry Rodriguez, a plunk that resulted in a highly entertaining brawl where several punches were actually thrown.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Paul Daugherty: With Matt Harvey on Cincinnati Reds, it's Dr. Death vs. the Dark Knight," 11 May 2018
Last year, a minor but well-publicized brawl at the Comcast Center plaza led the Chops restaurant on the site to drop out of the promotion for the summer.

— allison steele, Philly.com, "Sips returns for the summer, with higher prices and an eye toward upscale bars," 31 May 2018
Speakers, top chefs and judges will gather at Akron Rubber Ducks at Canal Park for the kitchen brawl, where each chef is encouraged to use local produce and meat alternatives to prepare their dishes.

— cleveland.com, "22 things to do in Cleveland the weekend of May 10-13," 10 May 2018
In real life, the choke hold was not a long stalemate but a brief, fluid moment, before the two men started flailing, Erving began punching, and their own fight got absorbed in a sprawling brawl.

— eric moskowitz, BostonGlobe.com, "A Celtics-Sixers photo for the ages. And the photographer behind the shot.," 7 May 2018