Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for rough-and-tumble. Search instead for rumble-tumble.
Definitions

rough-and-tumble

[ruhf-uhn-tuhm-buhl] / ˈrʌf ənˈtʌm bəl /


NOUN
rough, unrestrained fighting
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If EVs are coming for the world, this is the rough-and-tumble frontier.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

The daughter of a Marine father and a trauma nurse mother, Murphy grew up outside of Chicago as a rough-and-tumble kid.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Yet to many he was best experienced onstage, where he’d thread his songs into a kind of running monologue about his rough-and-tumble life.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2025

On the one hand Klopp's 'heavy metal' football was tamed by an appreciation of territorial dominance, on the other Guardiola used Klopp's ideas to adapt to the rough-and-tumble of Premier League life.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

They were a rough-and-tumble bunch, not very worldly, but earnest and used to hard work.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown




Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "rough-and-tumble" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com