HOW TO PRONOUNCE
melee
/ˈmeɪˌleɪ/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:21
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What does melee mean?
noun
- A battle fought at close range, (especially) one not involving ranged weapons; hand-to-hand combat; brawling.
- A loud, confused or tumultuous fight, argument or scrap.
- Any confused, disorganised, disordered or chaotic situation.
More meanings (6)
noun
- Lively contention or debate, skirmish.
- Small cut and polished gemstones sold in lots.
- (historical) A cavalry exercise in which two groups of riders try to cut paper plumes off the helmets of their opponents, the contest continuing until no member of one group retains his plume.
verb
- (slang) To physically hit in close quarters, as opposed to shooting, blowing up, or other ranged means of damage. Often refers to the usage of a hand-to-hand weapon.
adjective
- Of a weapon: used in close-range combat, e.g. a sword. Compare with ranged.
- Of a character, using melee weapons.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈmeɪˌleɪ/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
An end was put to the melee, by the captain’s calling the ship’s company to put the salt water mobocrats in irons.
In the excitement of the aerial melee the first French aeroplane had been forgotten.
More book examples (3)
Turning, I saw a dozen black pirates dashing toward us from the melee.
“I shall tilt to-morrow” answered Athelstane, “in the ‘melee’; it is not worth while for me to arm myself to-day.”
His gun, accidentally discharged in the melee, killed one of the peasants.