free-for-all

free–for–all

noun

Definition of FREE-FOR-ALL

1

a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people <during the play-offs, fans of the opposing teams clashed in the streets in several free-for-alls>

Synonyms affray [chiefly British], broil, donnybrook, fracas, fray, free-for-all, melee (also m{ecirc}l{eacute}e), rough-and-tumble, row, ruckus, ruction

Related Words battle, clash, combat, conflict, contest, fisticuffs, handgrips, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussle; horseplay, roughhousing; altercation, argument, dispute, kickup, quarrel, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle

2

a state in which everything is out of order <it was a free-for-all when the doors to the arena opened and the crowd rushed in all at once>

Synonyms chance-medley, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, dishevelment, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, free-for-all, havoc, heck, hell, jumble, mare's nest, mess, messiness, misorder, muddle, muss, shambles, snake pit, tumble, welter

Related Words anarchy, lawlessness, misrule, riot; knot, snarl, tangle; labyrinth, maze, web; maelstrom, storm; bollix, clutter, litter, mishmash, shuffle; hodgepodge, medley, miscellany, morass, motley

Near Antonyms method, pattern, plan, system

Antonyms order, orderliness