melee

noun

me·​lee ˈmā-ˌlā How to pronounce melee (audio)
mā-ˈlā
variants or less commonly mêlée
: a confused struggle
especially : a hand-to-hand fight among several people
They were seriously injured in the melee.

Did you know?

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

a verbal disagreement at the football game soon turned into a general melee involving scores of spectators
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the melee that ensued, Chinese miners working in other rooms rushed in to defend their countrymen. Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025 Each crew member has different stats and proficiencies for gunnery, ship repair, melee attack, and melee defense. PCMAG, 20 Feb. 2025 The melee that followed would wind through two courts, drag on for eight years and cost the building a small fortune in legal fees. David Segal, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025 The pardons for those who attacked the U.S. Capitol included those who didn’t commit violence as well as those who carried firearms, Tasers, and knives into the melee, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for melee

Word History

Etymology

French mêlée, from Old French meslee, from mesler to mix — more at meddle

First Known Use

circa 1648, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of melee was circa 1648

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Cite this Entry

“Melee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

melee

noun
me·​lee ˈmā-ˌlā How to pronounce melee (audio)
mā-ˈlā
: a confused struggle
especially : a hand-to-hand fight among several people

More from Merriam-Webster on melee

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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