A Brawl Is Disorganised by Definition
A brawl is a rough, noisy fight. The word implies chaos, which is why a duel or a boxing match is never called one.
A brawl is a rough, noisy, disorderly fight involving several people. Disorder is part of the definition, not an accident of usage: a duel, a boxing match or a fencing bout can be violent but is never a brawl, because each has rules. A brawl is what happens when the rules are gone. The word also once meant simply to make a loud noise, and a brawling stream is a rushing one.
- A rough fight. *A bar brawl.*
- To fight noisily. *They brawled in the street.*
- Brawler — one who brawls. *A known brawler.*
- Brawling — of a stream, noisy. *A brawling brook.*
- Melee — the close synonym. *A confused melee.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | brawl | A street brawl. |
| Plural | brawls | Repeated brawls. |
| Verb | brawl | They brawled. |
| Agent | brawler | A brawler. |
| Adjective | brawling | A brawling crowd. |
- The match ended in a brawl.Disorder.
- Police broke up the brawl.Common collocation.
- A brawling mountain stream.Older sense: noisy.
Words for fights, by size and order
- Scuffle — small, brief, mostly pushing
- Brawl — several people, noisy, no rules
- Melee — a confused mass fight, often in battle
- Duel — two people, formal rules
- Bout — a scheduled contest, as in boxing
Middle English *braulen*, to quarrel or make a disturbance, probably of imitative origin or from Old French. Related forms exist across the Germanic languages.
Can two people brawl?
Usually a brawl involves more than two, and always disorder. Two people fighting is more often a scuffle or a fight.
What is a brawling brook?
A noisy, tumbling stream. This older sense of brawl means to make a loud noise, not to fight.