barefisted

[ bair-fis-tid ]

adjective

1. with the fists bare:

   a fierce, barefisted fight; to fight barefisted.

Word History and Origins

Origin of barefisted¹

bare ¹ + fist ¹( def ) + -ed ³( def )

Example Sentences

One defendant in the case, according to the lawsuit, vowed online that he would “come barehanded and barefisted,” adding, “My guys will be ready with lots of nifty equipment.”

From Washington Times

“As Uzcátegui was standing in his corner, Leon Lawson walked across the ring and barefisted struck Uzcátegui in the face with his left fist,” according to a statement of charges filed by Uzcát­egui’s manager, Sean Gibbons.

From Washington Post

He was raised mostly by a strong mother who could cheer him on in a barefisted street brawl but stood resolutely in his way when he toyed with the idea of a professional fight career.

From Time Magazine Archive

The regime's barefisted attack on the Basques, who were tortured by police and tried in a military court under a questionable "banditry and terrorism law," sparked opposition not only from the 2,000,000 ethnic Basques of northern Spain, but also from the country's Catholic clergy, its lawyers, its labor leaders, its students and some Cabinet ministers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge and General Paul Harkins, commander of the 14,000-man U.S. military mission, McNamara and General Maxwell Taylor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, plunged into their assignment: to find out whether the war on the Communists has been hurt by the Diem regime's barefisted handling of dissident Buddhists.

From Time Magazine Archive