battle royal

noun

-rȯi-ˈal 

variants or battle royale

plural battles royal or battle royals or battles royale or battle royales

1

a

: a fight participated in by more than two combatants

especially : one in which the last fighter in the ring or the last fighter standing is declared the winner

b

: a violent struggle

2

: a heated dispute

Synonyms

• altercation
• argle-bargle [chiefly British]
• argument
• argy-bargy [chiefly British]
• bicker
• brawl
• contretemps
• controversy
• cross fire
• disagreement
• dispute
• donnybrook
• falling-out
• fight
• hassle
• imbroglio
• kickup
• misunderstanding
• quarrel
• rhubarb
• row
• scrap
• set-to
• spat
• squabble
• tiff
• wrangle

Examples of battle royal in a Sentence

the sisters had a battle royal over whose turn it was to use the family car

Recent Examples on the Web

This final has the potential to be an historic battle royal and, perhaps again, a passing of the torch—Djokovic, of course, has won this trophy seven times, while Alcaraz is the defending champion. —Corey Seymour, Vogue, 12 July 2024

In a 2-2-1-1 format, the ACC and Big 12 could very well receive just one bid (the AQ), because their No. 2 teams would compete annually in a battle royal for at-large berths against the Big Ten and SEC bluebloods, not to mention Notre Dame. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024

Even the scenes featuring the most brutality — like an epic battle royal at the end and a midway face-off between enthusiastic club member Hazel (Ruby Cruz) and a monstrous high school wrestler — deliver a fresh, even empowered, take on the teen film. —Elaina Patton, NBC News, 25 Aug. 2023

But this battle royal has a juicy twist: Oppenheimer is the first film Nolan has made outside of Warner Bros. since Memento way back in 2000. —Vulture, 14 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1a