ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rough-and-tumble mean? 

• ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE (noun)
  The noun ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE has 1 sense:

1. disorderly fighting

  Familiarity information: ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE used as a noun is very rare.

• ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE (adjective)
  The adjective ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE has 1 sense:

1. characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules

  Familiarity information: ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Disorderly fighting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

dogfight; hassle; rough-and-tumble; scuffle; tussle

Hypernyms ("rough-and-tumble" is a kind of...):

combat; fight; fighting; scrap (the act of fighting; any contest or struggle)

• ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules

Synonyms:

bare-knuckle; bare-knuckled; rough-and-tumble

Context example:

undisguised bare-knuckle capitalism

Similar:

disorderly (undisciplined and unruly)

 Context examples 

The rough-and-tumble environment near the center of the massive Coma galaxy cluster is no match for a wayward spiral galaxy.

(Hubble Sees Plunging Galaxy Losing Its Gas, NASA)

The rough-and-tumble work in Afghanistan, coming on the top of a natural Bohemianism of disposition, has made me rather more lax than befits a medical man.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)