fracas

[ frey-kuhs, frak-uhs; British frak-ah ]

noun

1. a noisy, disorderly disturbance or fight; riotous brawl; uproar.

fracas

/ ˈfrækɑː /

noun

1. a noisy quarrel; brawl

Word History and Origins

Origin of fracas¹

First recorded in 1720–30; < French, from Italian fracasso, derivative of fracassare “to smash,” equivalent to fra- “completely” (from Latin infrā “among”) + cassare “to break”; cassation

Word History and Origins

Origin of fracas¹

C18: from French, from fracasser to shatter, from Latin frangere to break, influenced by quassāre to shatter

Example Sentences

A fracas ensued and the group eventually left, with Martin arrested in Chelmsford and the three others later detained by police in Southend-on-Sea.

From BBC

French fans booed the Argentinian national anthem before the match at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, and the fracas at the final whistle highlighted the rivalry and tension.

From BBC

Stenhouse’s father, Ricky Sr., got into the fracas and appeared to take at least one of Busch’s punches.

From Seattle Times

Tyson Fury's father was injured in a fracas with members of Oleksandr Usyk’s camp as the build-up to Saturday’s undisputed world heavyweight contest got under way in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

From BBC

But the TikTok fracas is also not so ideologically tidy.

From Slate

Related Words

• altercation
• bickering
• brawl
• brouhaha
• feud
• flap
• fray
• free-for-all
• melee
• quarrel
• riot
• scuffle
• squabble
• tumult
• uproar