Melee tends to be encountered more often in written rather than spoken English, but it is far from obscure, and has seen increasing use especially in the context of video games featuring some …

1. A confused struggle or fight at close quarters. See Synonyms at brawl. 2. A confused tumultuous mingling, as of a crowd: the rush-hour melee.

MELEE meaning: 1. a large noisy uncontrolled crowd, in which people are moving in different directions and…. Learn more.

A melee (/ ˈmeɪleɪ / or / ˈmɛleɪ /) is a confused hand-to-hand fight among several people. The English term melee originated circa 1648 from the French word mêlée (French: [mɛle]), …

melee in British English or mêlée (ˈmɛleɪ ) noun a noisy riotous fight or brawl

mêlée, n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

Origin of Melee Borrowed from French mêlée, from Old French meslee, feminine past participle of mesler (“to mix" ), derived from Latin misceō (“mix" ).

MELEE definition: a group of diamonds, each weighing less than 0.25 carat. See examples of melee used in a sentence.

Definition of melee noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025 me•lee1 or mê•lée /ˈmeɪleɪ, meɪˈleɪ, ˈmɛleɪ/ n. [countable] a confused hand-to-hand fight: waded into the …