as in brawl
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of melee
The incident outside the detention center resulted in a melee and ended with the Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat who is also running for New Jersey governor, getting arrested.
—
Luke Barr, ABC News, 14 May 2025
The car was shot up in the melee and the driver sped away, with the vehicle ultimately becoming disabled on the highway, Delva said.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 13 May 2025
Outside, Knicks and Celtics fans clashed and multiple fights broke out in a frenetic scene, and police detained several in the melee, according to fan accounts posted on X.
The emotion came as the Knicks ran back Game 1’s epic comeback.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 8 May 2025
Four people inside the bar heard the melee, stepped outside to help, and Cashaw, the complaint continues, then opened fire at least 20 times striking all five victims.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for melee
Luke Barr, ABC News, 14 May 2025
The car was shot up in the melee and the driver sped away, with the vehicle ultimately becoming disabled on the highway, Delva said.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 13 May 2025
Outside, Knicks and Celtics fans clashed and multiple fights broke out in a frenetic scene, and police detained several in the melee, according to fan accounts posted on X.
The emotion came as the Knicks ran back Game 1’s epic comeback.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 8 May 2025
Four people inside the bar heard the melee, stepped outside to help, and Cashaw, the complaint continues, then opened fire at least 20 times striking all five victims.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for melee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melee
Noun
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Authorities attempted to limit the violence on the Seaside Heights boardwalk over the holiday weekend by imposing a 10 p.m. curfew on unaccompanied minors, but the brawls continued anyway, WABC reported.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
26 May 2025
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No one could agree on whether the brawl of as many as nine young men was limited to fists or if its participants were also kicking and stomping.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Nuñez warned that more skirmishes could occur on Sunday as PSG will parade on the Champs-Élysées before celebrating the title with their fans at the Parc des Princes stadium.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
1 June 2025
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Thailand and Cambodia have a long history of land disputes, though Thailand said after the short skirmish that the situation had been resolved.—
DAVID RISING,
Arkansas Online,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melee. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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