variants
or knock-down-and-drag-out
as in violent
marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity
the football game was a knock-down, drag-out battle between bitter rivals
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of knock-down, drag-out
The meeting of a pair of programs on the rise was a knock-down, drag-out affair that appeared to have no end in sight.
—
Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2025
What follows is a knock-down, drag-out brawl reminiscent of Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2024
This was a knock-down, drag-out fight — the kind of match that would make for excellent watching when Marvel Snap tournaments are up and running.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 31 Jan. 2023
Last week’s knock-down, drag-out fight could just be the first of many this session as GOP lawmakers grapple with government spending, the debt ceiling and the situation at the border.
—Dallas News, 10 Jan. 2023
But both performers rode their SNL success to Hollywood superstardom, in turn validating the audience's appetite for inspired silliness and knock-down, drag-out belly-laughs.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2022
As much as the streaming wars can feel like a knock-down, drag-out fight, Amazon can spend time on the ropes because streaming isn’t its core business.
—Angela Watercutter, Wired, 18 Mar. 2022
But rather than a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish, this series is all about empowerment.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 17 Feb. 2022
However, leaping in expecting an argument to become a knock-down, drag-out fight isn't the best way to go about your life.
—Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 9 Feb. 2022
Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2025
What follows is a knock-down, drag-out brawl reminiscent of Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2024
This was a knock-down, drag-out fight — the kind of match that would make for excellent watching when Marvel Snap tournaments are up and running.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 31 Jan. 2023
Last week’s knock-down, drag-out fight could just be the first of many this session as GOP lawmakers grapple with government spending, the debt ceiling and the situation at the border.
—Dallas News, 10 Jan. 2023
But both performers rode their SNL success to Hollywood superstardom, in turn validating the audience's appetite for inspired silliness and knock-down, drag-out belly-laughs.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2022
As much as the streaming wars can feel like a knock-down, drag-out fight, Amazon can spend time on the ropes because streaming isn’t its core business.
—Angela Watercutter, Wired, 18 Mar. 2022
But rather than a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish, this series is all about empowerment.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 17 Feb. 2022
However, leaping in expecting an argument to become a knock-down, drag-out fight isn't the best way to go about your life.
—Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 9 Feb. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knock-down, drag-out
Adjective
-
In 2023, a report from the Police Executive Research Forum, a national think tank on policing standards, called for police to put the brakes on car chases unless a violent crime has been committed and the suspect poses an imminent threat.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The enemy was large and violent.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But Altman inspired fierce loyalty, too.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Christian villagers who stayed behind in southern Lebanon, ignoring Israel’s blanket evacuation warnings for the area, have increasingly hardened into enclaves surrounded by fierce clashes.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Italy happens to be in similarly ferocious form, however, and has won seven of its last eight, albeit losing twice in as many encounters with qualifying group winner Norway last year.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Despite Iran’s remarkably ferocious response across the region – attacking neighbors like Oman who days earlier mediated between Tehran and Washington - weeks of intense airstrikes against its cities and military has not magically left it a hundred feet tall.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The furious finish, in a game played in the midst of wind gusts that made 40 degrees feel much colder as afternoon turned to evening, came after the Padres lost an early lead and then got it back again.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Texas battled back to within one possession late, but Betts’ block sealed it for a team that has come too far and endured too much to be bothered by even the most furious of comeback attempts.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In his first novel, Il salto con le aste (1989), Domenico Starnone presented two young boys determined to escape their turbulent Neapolitan backgrounds and assert themselves as free spirits and writers in the wider world.—
Tim Parks,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Soaring food and energy costs related to world conflicts, post-pandemic labor shortages, and consumers skittish about spending in this turbulent economy have become huge challenges for restaurateurs, Guez says.—
Vivian Song,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Heat has also now allowed more than 120 points in eight of the 10 games during this rough 2-8 stretch.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The Italian coast guard operated in the Libyan search and rescue area amid rough weather conditions, a spokesman said on Wednesday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 280 million people, sits on major seismic faults and is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Violent, volcanic explosions some 30 million years ago (after dinosaurs went extinct) created the sheer rock faces and fields of boulders that make the region's geography so unique.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And then there’s the New England Sports Network, or NESN, which has the benefit of airing some local games to New England’s rabid fan base, as well as Pittsburgh’s.—
Lillian Rizzo,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
-
One rabid mongoose bite later, and Ben is a skull-crushing, face-ripping menace terrorizing Lucy and her friends.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Knock-down, drag-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knock-down%2C%20drag-out. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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