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Melee Has French Roots
English has no shortage of words for confused and noisy fights, some (fray, brawl, scrap) more common than others (donnybrook, fracas). Melee tends to be encountered more often in written rather than spoken English, but it is far from obscure, and has seen increasing use especially in the context of video games featuring some form of hand-to-hand combat. Such games allow players to mix it up with all manner of rivals and baddies from the comfort and safety of their home, with mix being an especially apt word alongside melee: the latter comes from the French word mêlée, which in turn comes from the Old French verb mesler, meaning "to mix."
Examples of melee in a Sentence
Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 24 June 2025
In the melee, second base ump Kellen Levy fell backward to the ground.
—Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 22 June 2025
After the game, both teams said missed calls and poor game management by the officials led to the melee at the end.
—Doug Feinberg, Chicago Tribune, 18 June 2025
By the time all the players could be separated, the officials had handed out 80 minutes of penalty time for the melee.
—Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for melee
Cite this Entry
“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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melee
noun
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