fisticuffs

fis·ti·cuffs
F4I1S1T1I1C3U1F4F4S1
UK/ˈfɪs.tɪ.kʌfs/US/ˈfɪs.tɪˌkəfs/

noun

An impromptu fight with the fists, usually between only two people.

Similar
brawlprizefightingfightfistfightpunch-upslugfestboxingpugilism
UncommonScrabble 21
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Meanings

nounfisticuffs pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyplural of fisticuff
  2. informalpluralplural onlyAn impromptu fight with the fists, usually between only two people.

    […], his head all scarred with the sticks and fisticuffs which he had got in the taverns at Utrecht, […]

    1890, Edmondo de Amicis, translated by Caroline Tilton, Holland and Its People, Chapter XII
    2 more examples

    So he obſerves that all ſimple Governments are apt to ſome evil that is peculiar and conſequential to their Nature, as he inſtanceth in a Kingdom changed into Monarchy abſolute, by which he means that which we now call Tyranny; Ariſtocracy into Oligarchy, and Democracy into Beſtial Chirocracy, when the Seditious of people prevail more by Fiſticuffs than reaſon: […]

    1686, Nathaniel Johnston, “III: That the People are not the Original of Authority and Government”, in The Excellency of Monarchical Government, Eſpecially of the Engliſh Monarchy […] , London: T. B. for Robert Clavel, page 19

    People who share a cell in the Basti[l]le […] if they do not immediately fall to fisticuffs, will find some possible ground of compromise.

    1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Virginibus Puerisque”, in Virginibus Puerisque, and Other Papers

    Synonyms: brawl

  3. datedpluralplural onlyhobbiesBare-knuckled boxing, a form of boxing done without boxing gloves or similar padding.

    In his college days of athletic exercises, Mr. Crisparkle had known professors of the Noble Art of fisticuffs, […]

    1870 April–September, Charles Dickens, “Chapter XVII”, in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1870, →OCLC

    Synonyms: prizefighting

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn impromptu fight with the fists, usually between only two people.

Similar
brawl

nounBare-knuckled boxing, a form of boxing done without boxing gloves or similar padding.

Similar
prizefighting
Similar
fightfistfightpunch-up

More synonyms by meaning

nouna fight with bare fists

Similar
fistfightslugfest
Broader
fightfightingcombat

nounfighting with the fists

Similar
boxingpugilism
Broader
contact sport
Also see
barneyboxingfistfightpugilismscrapeslugfest

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Bulgarian юмручен бой, бокс без ръкавици
  • юмручен бой (jumručen boj)informal: a fight with the fists
  • бокс без ръкавици (boks bez răkavici)bare-knuckled boxing
Dutch knokpartij
  • knokpartijinformal: a fight with the fists
Finnish käsirysy
  • käsirysyinformal: a fight with the fists
French bagarre, rififi
  • bagarreinformal: a fight with the fists
  • rififiinformal: a fight with the fists
  • pugilatbare-knuckled boxing
German Handgreiflichkeiten
  • Handgreiflichkeiteninformal: a fight with the fists
Hungarian bunyó
  • bunyóinformal: a fight with the fists
Russian кулачный бой, мордобой
  • кулачный бой (kulačnyj)informal: a fight with the fists
  • мордобой (mordoboj)informal: a fight with the fists
Spanish trifulca
  • trifulcainformal: a fight with the fists
Cite this entry
APA

fisticuffs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fisticuffs

MLA

“fisticuffs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fisticuffs. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fisticuffs,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fisticuffs.

Source: fisticuffs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.