melees

noun

plural of melee
as in brawls
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 melees Infantry has been around since officers figured out how to get soldiers organized instead of fighting in melees like football hooligans on a Saturday night after 12 pints of lager. — New Atlas, 13 Sep. 2026 There was a bunch of melees on the ice today. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026 College basketball games recently have turned into full-contact melees after hard fouls on the court. — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melees
  1. brawls
  2. clashes
Noun
  • There are brawls over policy that lead to lawsuits, but the main drama is the 2023 school board election, where the Democrats hoped to reverse the Republicans’ 6-3 majority.
    — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The Rek Humanoid Robot Fighting League is a fighting organization that hosts humanoid robot versus robot brawls in an undersized MMA cage.
    — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of brawls
Noun
  • Likewise, the student protests over the weekend expanded from education to other grievances — and featured dramatic scenes of looting and clashes with police.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The unrest, fueled by anger over living costs and poor school conditions, included arson, clashes with police and looting; officials say curfews will continue where needed.
    — Tom Nouvian, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of clashes

Browse Nearby Words

melee
melees
meliorate
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Cite this Entry

“Melees.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melees. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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