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
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
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
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Hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced from their homes in both countries when border skirmishes broke out for the second time this year.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Dec. 2025
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For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817-kilometer (508-mile) land border – a dispute that has occasionally exploded into skirmishes and fighting.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
27 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Since Assad’s ousting, Syria has seen flare-ups of deadly sectarian violence, with clashes erupting between security forces and those loyal to the former president, including in Syria’s coastal Latakia region in March.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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As for South Sudan, a senior United Nations official said earlier this week that the ongoing conflict in Sudan is causing destabilization in South Sudan, including armed clashes and food insecurity.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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According to reports, there were fights in the snake-like queue that formed.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2026
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Town budgets, school boards, zoning fights, shoreline resilience — these are problems that punish purity.—
Robert T.F. Downes,
Hartford Courant,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The facility, which is surrounded by the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve, also has led to separate legal battles in federal court.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
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Soon the scene devolved into individual battles between officers and rioters.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dustups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dustups. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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