dustups

noun

plural of dustup
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dustups As for the offense overall, Payne agreed that the dustups with the defense helped motivate the offense. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 July 2026 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 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
  1. skirmishes
  2. clashes
  3. fights
  4. battles
Noun
  • Apart from a few tear-gas skirmishes, the demonstrations ended peacefully.
    — Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Modern politics is a constant string of skirmishes over word choice.
    — David Litt, Time, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of skirmishes
Noun
  • Those clashes came as social unrest has set Europe's streets ablaze from France and Italy to Spain and Portugal, fueled by youth frustration over the state of public education, social services and the high cost of housing.
    — JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The presidency said the military deployment began the day after the clashes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of clashes
Noun
  • There were messy confirmation fights over controversial Cabinet picks, the era of DOGE and back-and-forths over trade policy.
    — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In a preview of political fights to come over artificial intelligence, the data center industry is starting to spend money on elections for the first time.
    — Theodore Schleifer, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of fights
Noun
  • At the morning roundtable, Alan tells the players that Marathon, Agincourt, and Waterloo were all decisive battles fought early in the day.
    — Alice Burton, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Across the two films, the saga will follow Shivaji Maharaj through his major battles and victories, the sacrifices that came with them and episodes from his life that are less widely known.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of battles

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Cite this Entry

“Dustups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dustups. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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