as in skirmishes
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
he came home with a black eye from the dustup at the bar
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Recent Examples of dustups
The second half ground almost to a halt with a few minor dustups for fouls and arguments.
—
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
To Washington, the dustups are the sort of tough love the continent needs.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
While the midair dustups are trending down after the Federal Aviation Administration adopted a zero-tolerance policy and increased fines almost five years ago, the incidents will end up close to double the three-year average before the pandemic.
—Thomas Black, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Prior to the dustups with NBCU and TelevisaUnivision, YouTube TV had nearly blacked out Paramount and Fox networks, reaching deals with both media companies after tensions spilled into public view.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
And the headline bombshells continue in the who-did-what-when mortgage dustups.
—Susan Tompor, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
And the headline bombshells continue in the who-did-what-when mortgage dustups.
—Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 17 Sep. 2025
He and Raiders coach Pete Carroll intervened to keep a couple of dustups from turning into fights, including on special teams.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
To Washington, the dustups are the sort of tough love the continent needs.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
While the midair dustups are trending down after the Federal Aviation Administration adopted a zero-tolerance policy and increased fines almost five years ago, the incidents will end up close to double the three-year average before the pandemic.
—Thomas Black, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Prior to the dustups with NBCU and TelevisaUnivision, YouTube TV had nearly blacked out Paramount and Fox networks, reaching deals with both media companies after tensions spilled into public view.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
And the headline bombshells continue in the who-did-what-when mortgage dustups.
—Susan Tompor, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
And the headline bombshells continue in the who-did-what-when mortgage dustups.
—Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 17 Sep. 2025
He and Raiders coach Pete Carroll intervened to keep a couple of dustups from turning into fights, including on special teams.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dustups
Noun
-
Video taken by Fox News Digital showed several skirmishes breaking out as Anthony was handed a sentence of 35 years behind bars for Metcalf’s killing.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
-
Thankfully, none of these skirmishes affects the guests’ satisfaction with the trip.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
The clashes continued even after police ordered the demonstrators to disperse.—
Jamey Keaten,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
-
In the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, violence drove displacements to record levels following the armed clashes in Cite Soleil in March and again in May.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
In between fights, promotions for the military have been displayed on the big screens.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
15 June 2026
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Trump has sought to tie Sunday’s event — which features seven fights running past midnight — to larger, months-long celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.—
Will Weissert,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Despite the scale of the war at hand, which involves aerial battles between dragon riders as well as giant troops of warriors on land and sea, much of the action Rhaenyra has been involved in is interpersonal — at least so far.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2026
-
The first 45 minutes were something of a slog as both teams failed to capitalize on any great opportunities and spent much of their time in battles at the midfield.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dustups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dustups. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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