bare-knuckle

adjective or adverb

bare-knuck·​le ˈber-ˈnə-kəl 

variants or less commonly bare-knuckled

ˈber-ˈnə-kəld 

or bare-knuckles

ˈber-ˈnə-kəlz 

1

: not using boxing gloves

champion bare-knuckle prizefighter of England

—Dennis Craig

when men fought bare-knuckle

2

: having a fierce unrelenting character

bare-knuckle politics

Examples of bare-knuckle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The licensing agreement with the bare-knuckle boxing promoter also marks the first live event series for Vice TV, which kicks off with the BYB 37 Denver Brawl IV on Feb. 22. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2025

This morning’s must reads (Joel C Ryan; Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) Inside the bare-knuckle legal brawl between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2025

The film’s tender moments sit alongside scenes of fast cars, hard partying, and bare-knuckle fights. —Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2025

The descendants of the two founders, who died decades ago, are locked in a bare-knuckle fight for control of Korea Zinc. —Daisuke Wakabayashi, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined at sense 1