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Melee Has French Roots
English has no shortage of words for confused and noisy fights, some (fray, brawl, scrap) more common than others (donnybrook, fracas). Melee tends to be encountered more often in written rather than spoken English, but it is far from obscure, and has seen increasing use especially in the context of video games featuring some form of hand-to-hand combat. Such games allow players to mix it up with all manner of rivals and baddies from the comfort and safety of their home, with mix being an especially apt word alongside melee: the latter comes from the French word mêlée, which in turn comes from the Old French verb mesler, meaning "to mix."
Synonyms
Examples of melee in a Sentence
Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 3 Nov. 2024
Here's a closer look at the latest social media melee.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 11 Oct. 2024
After the melee overnight on April 30, UCLA created a new Office of Campus Safety, hired former Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel to head it and moved all policing and emergency management programs to that office.
—Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2024
For one, the melee takes place atop the thin outer rim of a nuclear silo with a backdrop that would best qualify as scenery in Minecraft.
—Arye Dworken, Vulture, 26 July 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near melee
Cite this Entry
“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
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melee
noun
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