as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
the two players got into a scrimmage off the court and got suspended
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrimmage
While most college coaches treat their practices like a top secret meeting, Dykes has maintained a wide-open media policy, allowing reporters to watch full practices in the spring and fall camps, and even allowing fans and media to watch entire scrimmages.
—
Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
The count had been narrowed to just more than 100 for Monday’s doubleheader of scrimmages, which was open to the public.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2025
By all measures, it’s been a good camp for J.J. McCarthy, and the young quarterback went out with a bang, completing 26 of 33 passes — including a few highlight connections — in a roughly two-hour scrimmage under blue skies and a hot, late-August sun.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 20 Aug. 2025
Bourne suffered an injury in an intra-squad scrimmage in the second week of training camp.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrimmage
Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
The count had been narrowed to just more than 100 for Monday’s doubleheader of scrimmages, which was open to the public.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2025
By all measures, it’s been a good camp for J.J. McCarthy, and the young quarterback went out with a bang, completing 26 of 33 passes — including a few highlight connections — in a roughly two-hour scrimmage under blue skies and a hot, late-August sun.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 20 Aug. 2025
Bourne suffered an injury in an intra-squad scrimmage in the second week of training camp.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrimmage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrimmage
Noun
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These issues are not unique to the WNBA, as its affiliate league, the NBA, has weathered refereeing controversies and skirmishes over player pay for years.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
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Each new development is underscored by a lingering discomfort about the racial dynamics of the skirmish and about Maja taking action where Nourou might have wanted to leave the whole thing be.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Blame Mercury’s clash with Chiron!—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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Previous attempts by activist flotillas to break the blockade have largely failed and sometimes sparked deadly clashes, including during the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla raid.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For Democrats, the battle marked a defining moment to demonstrate unity after earlier funding fights in which they were accused of caving to Republican demands.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
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That was really the battle, less than the gut.—
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Congressional Democrats have not sought to change that, at least not in the current spending fight.—
Todd Spangler,
Freep.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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The administration has also called out the arrest of Sortor, a 27-year-old conservative influencer, amid protests outside the ICE facility in Portland during what police characterized as a fight.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scrimmage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrimmage. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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