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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."
Examples of melee in a Sentence
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 11 Mar. 2025
Naoe excels in parkour and silent eliminations, using tools like a grappling hook, while Yasuke dominates in melee combat.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
Captain America will be able to use melee attacks while his shield is thrown or during the Team-Up Ability Charged Aegis state to activate the first two hits of Sentinel Strike.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
An inattentive public might simply see a Washington melee—the disrupters against the bureaucrats.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for melee
Cite this Entry
“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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melee
noun
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