rough-and-tumbles

noun

plural of rough-and-tumble
as in brawls
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people a rough-and-tumble broke out among the fans in the stands

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-tumbles
  1. brawls
  2. clashes
Noun
  • After the final whistle blew, several brawls broke out between players, and even coaches appeared to get involved.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026
  • The Balboa Peninsula, which Stapleton represents on the council, has historically been an infamous hot spot for public drinking, disruptive parties and brawls throughout the summer and especially during the Fourth of July.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of brawls
Noun
  • Historic World Cup clashes, controversial refereeing calls, viral locker-room videos and a bombastic TV rant have deepened resentment, turning Argentina–Mexico tensions into a proxy battle over class, race and nationalism.
    — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • Others, like the Charlie's Angels set imbroglio, stemmed from personality clashes and behind-the-scenes behavior.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026
Definition of clashes
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.

Browse Nearby Words

rough-and-tumble
rough-and-tumbles
roughed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rough-and-tumbles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-tumbles. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All