brawled; brawling; brawls
1
: to quarrel or fight noisily : wrangle
soccer fans brawling in the streets
2
: to make a loud confused noise
the Miami river … brawled over 25 feet of rapids—
Marjory S. Douglas
Marjory S. Douglas
brawler
noun
1
: a noisy quarrel or fight
a brawl broke out among the fans
a barroom brawl
2
: a loud tumultuous noise
the spring run became quite a trout brook and its tiny murmur a loud brawl—John Burroughs
John Burroughs
Synonyms
Examples of brawl in a Sentence
Verb
Fans were brawling in the streets after the game.
the Wilsons were always loudly brawling, and the neighbors were always shutting their windows
Noun
they were thrown out of the party after starting a brawl
the student drama society's decision to put on the controversial play prompted a brawl at the school board meeting
Recent Examples on the WebMiles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
Fisk is always ready to brawl, and his final encounter with Maya led to him reliving the most painful moments of his life.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2024
Advertisement Funk impacted several different generations of the sport, wrestling as easily in a brawling style as a technical style.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
Senate candidates brawled Tuesday night over energy, the economy, corporate ties and almost anything else Californians care about.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 21 Feb. 2024
When Swayze’s Dalton arrives at the Double Deuce, the seedy joint he’s supposed to transform, the place is all brawling chaos (or, at least, the 1980s backlot version of it: an orgy of broken prop glass, corn-syrup blood, and stunt fights that look like stunt fights).
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024
Though hopefully with cooler heads prevailing; artists were known for brawling at the bar and Pollock was barred briefly for ripping a bathroom door off its hinges and throwing it at the artist Franz Kline during a fight.
—Zachary Small, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2024
Now, Gude and his gaggle of anti-Scientology protesters are brawling publicly with the organization.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024
This came about a week after surveillance footage captured a group of migrants brawling with police in Times Square.
—Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
That’s the line that Road House, Doug Liman’s redo of the epitome of cinéma du brawl, has gotta walk.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024
Bunnell, Florida, police caught themselves in the middle of a brawl involving more than 50 people, and called the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to help control the situation Saturday night.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 7 Mar. 2024
The Disney proxy battle is heating up as the heirs of Walt and Roy Disney, the company’s founders, throw their support behind the current regime, not Nelson Peltz or Blackwells.
‘Road House’ brawl: Amazon used AI to replicate actors’ voices during strike, lawsuit alleges.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Cam Newton went viral Sunday after a video surfaced that showed the former Carolina Panthers star involved in a brawl.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 26 Feb. 2024
And the way this bit is told—with Okafor and Rick in a pretty intense brawl—is actually pretty gripping stuff.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
The re-boot of the 1989 bar brawl drama starring Patrick Swayze will get a new leading man in Jake Gyllenhaal in the film due out on March 21.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2024
Women’s college basketball: South Carolina won the S.E.C. tournament championship over L.S.U. The game had a brawl in the fourth quarter.
—David Leonhardt, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
Last June, as members of the fascist Proud Boys gang brawled with the Rose City Nationalists, a neo-Nazi organization of the Pacific Northwest, at an LGBTQ pride event that both sought to disrupt, several RCN participants were unmasked.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
Fisk is always ready to brawl, and his final encounter with Maya led to him reliving the most painful moments of his life.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2024
Advertisement Funk impacted several different generations of the sport, wrestling as easily in a brawling style as a technical style.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
Senate candidates brawled Tuesday night over energy, the economy, corporate ties and almost anything else Californians care about.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 21 Feb. 2024
When Swayze’s Dalton arrives at the Double Deuce, the seedy joint he’s supposed to transform, the place is all brawling chaos (or, at least, the 1980s backlot version of it: an orgy of broken prop glass, corn-syrup blood, and stunt fights that look like stunt fights).
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024
Though hopefully with cooler heads prevailing; artists were known for brawling at the bar and Pollock was barred briefly for ripping a bathroom door off its hinges and throwing it at the artist Franz Kline during a fight.
—Zachary Small, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2024
Now, Gude and his gaggle of anti-Scientology protesters are brawling publicly with the organization.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024
This came about a week after surveillance footage captured a group of migrants brawling with police in Times Square.
—Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
Noun
Kaylee Gain, 15, was hospitalized after a violent brawl captured on camera outside a school in St. Louis, Miss. on March 8, St. Louis County Police Department confirms to PEOPLE.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
That’s the line that Road House, Doug Liman’s redo of the epitome of cinéma du brawl, has gotta walk.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024
Bunnell, Florida, police caught themselves in the middle of a brawl involving more than 50 people, and called the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to help control the situation Saturday night.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 7 Mar. 2024
The Disney proxy battle is heating up as the heirs of Walt and Roy Disney, the company’s founders, throw their support behind the current regime, not Nelson Peltz or Blackwells.
‘Road House’ brawl: Amazon used AI to replicate actors’ voices during strike, lawsuit alleges.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Cam Newton went viral Sunday after a video surfaced that showed the former Carolina Panthers star involved in a brawl.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 26 Feb. 2024
And the way this bit is told—with Okafor and Rick in a pretty intense brawl—is actually pretty gripping stuff.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
The re-boot of the 1989 bar brawl drama starring Patrick Swayze will get a new leading man in Jake Gyllenhaal in the film due out on March 21.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2024
Women’s college basketball: South Carolina won the S.E.C. tournament championship over L.S.U. The game had a brawl in the fourth quarter.
—David Leonhardt, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brawl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English brawlen, brallen, of uncertain origin
Noun
Middle English braule, brall, noun derivative of brawlen "to brawl entry 1
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of brawl was
in the 15th century
Phrases Containing brawl
Dictionary Entries Near brawl
Cite this Entry
“Brawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brawl. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
brawl
verbˈbrȯl
1
: to quarrel noisily : wrangle
2
: to make a loud confused noise
brawl
noun
brawler
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on brawl
Nglish: Translation of brawl for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of brawl for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about brawl
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