free-for-all
noun
: a competition, dispute, or fight open to all comers and usually with no rules : brawl
also
: a chaotic situation resembling a free-for-all especially in lacking rules or structure
the press conference deteriorated into a free-for-all
free-for-all
adjective
Synonyms
Examples of free-for-all in a Sentence
during the play-offs, fans of the opposing teams clashed in the streets in several free-for-alls
it was a free-for-all when the doors to the arena opened and the crowd rushed in all at once
Recent Examples on the Web
Breathless had started as a somewhat conventional project that Godard turned into an irreverent formal free-for-all; the noirish, plaintive Le petit soldat had enough genre elements to mistake it for something more traditional.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
From April 13 to 15, the capital transforms into a massive free-for-all, where people appear with everything from water guns to hoses, dousing each other in water to mark the turn of the year.
—Mark Ellwood, AFAR Media, 7 Feb. 2025
The class, the film shows, was an experimental free-for-all.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 31 Jan. 2025
Trump's first administration was often a free-for-all, driven by rivalries between Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, adviser Steve Bannon and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
—Marc Caputo, Axios, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for free-for-all 
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Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
From April 13 to 15, the capital transforms into a massive free-for-all, where people appear with everything from water guns to hoses, dousing each other in water to mark the turn of the year.
—Mark Ellwood, AFAR Media, 7 Feb. 2025
The class, the film shows, was an experimental free-for-all.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 31 Jan. 2025
Trump's first administration was often a free-for-all, driven by rivalries between Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, adviser Steve Bannon and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
—Marc Caputo, Axios, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for free-for-all
Dictionary Entries Near free-for-all
Cite this Entry
“Free-for-all.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free-for-all. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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