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 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
  • Lex and Tesehki are stars of Zeus Network's Baddies reality show where brawls are commonplace.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The season 2 trailer follows an earlier teaser trailer, which promised a few other bloody brawls.
    — Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of brawls
Noun
  • After months of sharp clashes, the winners of Tuesday’s primaries are now pivoting for another round of battles against new challengers in the November election.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Ultimately, the immediate need for affordable, abundant solar capacity clashes with the goal of a self-sufficient supply chain, making price the primary driver for now.
    — Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 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 19 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on melees

Nglish: Translation of melees for Spanish Speakers

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