Meanings
plural battles royal · plural battle royals · alternative battle-royal · alternative battle-royale · alternative battle royale
- A fight involving three or more individuals, teams, or factions; fought until one person, team, or faction is left standing.
Shinty, once a battle royal between villages, is still a far tougher game than hockey, its nearest Sassenach equivalent.
1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 2781 more example
I was told that since I was to be there anyway I might as well take part in the battle royal to be fought by some of my schoolmates as part of the entertainment.
1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 17 - broadlyA heated discussion or debate.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Preserves the French pattern of adjective after noun. Royal here means “grand in scale”.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
battle royal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/battle%20royal
“battle royal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/battle%20royal. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “battle royal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/battle%20royal.
Source: battle royal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.