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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Recent Examples of melee
There’s no reason a pause-play option couldn’t exist alongside the flashier melee and magic.
—
Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
That can be an additional melee weapon or bow and arrow or rifle.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
The sight of Cunha ripping the spectacles from the face of an Ipswich Town staff member in a post-match melee last month hinted at a player with a muddled mind.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025
The stealth-action gameplay is a little more pedestrian but still manages to distinguish itself with suitably crunchy melee combat and the enjoyable improvisation of attacking Nazis with everyday items, from wrenches to plungers.
—Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for melee 
Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
That can be an additional melee weapon or bow and arrow or rifle.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
The sight of Cunha ripping the spectacles from the face of an Ipswich Town staff member in a post-match melee last month hinted at a player with a muddled mind.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025
The stealth-action gameplay is a little more pedestrian but still manages to distinguish itself with suitably crunchy melee combat and the enjoyable improvisation of attacking Nazis with everyday items, from wrenches to plungers.
—Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for melee
Thesaurus Entries Near melee
Cite this Entry
“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melee. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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