as in fisticuffs
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Recent Examples of fistfight
And the crowd lurches; the crowd flexes; the crowd feels its core, which is both a sucking emptiness and a site of repellent energy, like the space cleared by a fistfight.
—
James Parker, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025
Naturally, there's plenty of dysfunction as confessions are made, a turkey is flung across the table, a football game leads to a fistfight, and Claudia tries to maintain her sanity.
—Gwen Ihnat, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Nov. 2025
In other footage of the unrest, two men were seen engaging in a fistfight outside the ICE facility before they were detained.
—Greg Norman , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
One former council member got into a fistfight with a businessman.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fistfight
James Parker, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025
Naturally, there's plenty of dysfunction as confessions are made, a turkey is flung across the table, a football game leads to a fistfight, and Claudia tries to maintain her sanity.
—Gwen Ihnat, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Nov. 2025
In other footage of the unrest, two men were seen engaging in a fistfight outside the ICE facility before they were detained.
—Greg Norman , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
One former council member got into a fistfight with a businessman.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fistfight
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fistfight
Noun
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The Yankees started their slugfest in style against the Rays, as Judge’s big fly traveled 429 feet to the batter’s eye at Steinbrenner Field.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
20 Aug. 2025
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Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jack Westover Notes: It’s been a slow, ugly slugfest among the backup tight ends to see who can win the No. 3 job.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Many local police departments began to rethink their approach to the weapons following violent confrontations with protesters over the 2020 police killing of George Floyd.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
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What was once a forum for engaged — sometimes heated — debate has, critics argue, become a stage for viral confrontation.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Cheap drinks soften emotional blows.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
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But researchers worry that repeated, less dramatic blows, such as heading the ball, can also have long-term effects; there is evidence that players who regularly head the ball are at greater risk of dementia than those, such as goalkeepers, who do not.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But comics depend on feedback – punch-ups from fellow comedians and reactions from audiences – iterating jokes in the same way lean startups may innovate new products.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
25 Sep. 2025
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That said, the negative reputation surrounding the last lines in Jones’ thorny adaptation — a punch-up from Ellison’s original text that’s meaner and more sexist, no doubt — seems outsized.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Routh's attorney suggested a 27-year sentence would be punishment enough for the crime citing no one was hurt in the melee, but prosecutors disagreed.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
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In the melee, Cristhian Mosquera lost his GPS tracker vest.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In a duel of the top two teams in the West Coast Conference standings, Gonzaga (25-2, 13-1 WCC) spoiled the Broncos’ best start to a season since 1969-70.—
Jeff Faraudo,
Mercury News,
15 Feb. 2026
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Edgecombe hit three 3-pointers during his scoring barrage in the first semifinal to win his duel with Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel, who scored just four points.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Chaotic video shows the moment a midair brawl erupted between passengers on a Jet2 flight bound for the United Kingdom on Thursday, reportedly forcing the plane to make a diversion.—
Sophia Compton,
FOXNews.com,
14 Feb. 2026
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The cause of the brawl was not immediately clear Saturday.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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During the portion of Thursday’s practice open to reporters, the Patriots practiced punch-out drills directly in front of reporters.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
22 Dec. 2025
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For a lower-stakes, breezier project, try a camellias-lilacs-and-sunflower wooden bouquet ($40) or a faintly Lovecraftian punch-out assembly kit for a venomous blue-ringed octopus ($40).—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
15 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fistfight.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fistfight. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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