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Melee Has French Roots
English has no shortage of words for confused and noisy fights, some (fray, brawl, scrap) more common than others (donnybrook, fracas). Melee tends to be encountered more often in written rather than spoken English, but it is far from obscure, and has seen increasing use especially in the context of video games featuring some form of hand-to-hand combat. Such games allow players to mix it up with all manner of rivals and baddies from the comfort and safety of their home, with mix being an especially apt word alongside melee: the latter comes from the French word mêlée, which in turn comes from the Old French verb mesler, meaning "to mix."
Examples of melee in a Sentence
Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 21 May 2025
Having wandered into the middle of their melee in his pajamas, this timid, slightly nebbishy dude is a mystery to all of them.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2025
If the referee had any lingering doubts about the decision, Motta swiftly removed them by grabbing the back of Busquets’ neck in the ensuing melee.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
The Fix Kit, meanwhile, comes equipped with a massive wrench that doubles as a damaging melee weapon and a tool used to fix machinery.
—Jason Fanelli, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for melee
Cite this Entry
“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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melee
noun
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