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Definition of brawl noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

brawl

noun
 
/brɔːl/
 
/brɔːl/
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  1. a noisy and violent fight involving a group of people, usually in a public place
    • They'd got into a brawl in a bar.
    • a pub/tavern/nightclub/barroom brawl
    • Police officers were injured in a mass brawl outside a nightclub.
    Synonyms fightfightclash brawl struggle scuffleThese are all words for a situation in which people try to defeat each other using physical force.fight a situation in which two or more people try to defeat each other using physical force:
    • He got into a fight with a man in the bar.
    clash (in the media) a short fight between two groups of people:
    • Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators.
    brawl a noisy and violent fight involving a group of people, usually in a public place:
    • a drunken brawl in a bar
    struggle a fight between two people or groups of people, especially when one of them is trying to escape, or to get something from the other:
    • There were no signs of a struggle at the murder scene.
    scuffle a short and not very violent fight or struggle:
    • He was involved in a scuffle with a photographer.
    Patterns
    • a fight/​clash/​brawl/​struggle/​scuffle over something
    • in a fight/​brawl/​struggle/​scuffle
    • a violent fight/​clash/​struggle
    • to be in/​get into/​be involved in a fight/​clash/​brawl/​scuffle
    • a fight/​clash/​brawl/​scuffle breaks out
    Extra Examples
    • They got caught up in a street brawl.
    • a brawl between different gangs of football supporters.
    • a brawl over a parking space
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • drunken
    • bar
    • barroom
    verb + brawl
    • provoke
    • spark
    • start
    preposition
    • in a/​the brawl
    • brawl between
    • brawl over
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: perhaps ultimately imitative and related to bray.
See brawl in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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