as in brawl
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
a verbal disagreement at the football game soon turned into a general melee involving scores of spectators
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Recent Examples of melee
Zimmer became much more famous as a manager and as the guy Pedro Martinez tossed to the ground during a Yankees-Red Sox on-field melee.
—
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025
At least 47 people were injured in the melee, most from gunshots, the U.N. said.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 29 May 2025
As Time explains, the whistles represent the group's preference for melee combat and stealth over the use of firearms.
—Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025
Several Uruguayan players joined the melee, including Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez, which led to sanctions.
—Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for melee
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025
At least 47 people were injured in the melee, most from gunshots, the U.N. said.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 29 May 2025
As Time explains, the whistles represent the group's preference for melee combat and stealth over the use of firearms.
—Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025
Several Uruguayan players joined the melee, including Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez, which led to sanctions.
—Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for melee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melee
Noun
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Most of the brawls took place between large groups of teenagers, according to Conley.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
22 June 2025
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Anakin and Obi-Wan's lightsaber brawl is an all-timer just for sheer brutality. 34.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 June 2025
Noun
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The protests were substantially peaceful, although small skirmishes resulting in arrests, damage to property and injuries broke out when police tried to disperse the crowd with rubber bullets and tear gas.—
Megan Schrader,
Denver Post,
22 June 2025
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Eisman drew similarities between the rocky trade environment and lead-up to World War I, likely referring to a series of treaties forged in the decades before the war designed to settle regional skirmishes that, in reality, created two massive, and eventually opposing, alliances.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melee. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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