free-for-all

noun

ˈfrē-fə-ˌrȯl 

: 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

• affray [chiefly British]
• brawl
• broil
• donnybrook
• fracas
• fray
• melee
• mêlée
• rough-and-tumble
• row
• ruckus
• ruction

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

The longtime app free-for-all is coming to an end, with a Play Store cull and tightening of restrictions around sideloading now hitting users, and Play Protect soon to be enhanced with Android 15’s live threat detection. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024

Palmer also reacts to that impromptu pickleball free-for-all on the series premiere. —Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 20 Sep. 2024

Insiders at newly public companies approaching the end of a lockup period will often communicate with the board to devise a plan to sell their stake incrementally over time and avoid a free-for-all in the market, according to Michael Ewens, a finance professor at Columbia Business School. —Bypaolo Confino, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2024

Asia is not a European-style concert of powers, a Middle Eastern free-for-all, or a Cold War–era system of opposing blocs. —Susannah Patton, Foreign Affairs, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

free-for-all

noun

ˈfrē-fə-ˌrȯl

: a competition or fight open to all comers usually without rules

free-for-all adjective