melee

US /ˈmeɪˌleɪ/ UK /ˈmɛˌleɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #41584

Meanings

1

verb
to attack with the hands or handheld not projectile weapon, typically in video games

I meleed my friend ten times in a row.
2

noun
A battle fought at close range, (especially) one not involving ranged weapons; hand-to-hand combat; brawling.

Honestly, a lot of what this episode did right had more to do with the scenes that surrounded the enormous melee than those hyper-edited clashes of swords.
3

noun
A loud, confused or tumultuous fight, argument or scrap.

The ball did not appear to cross the line, a view supported by television replays as Blues captain John Terry also joined the melee, but referee Atkinson awarded the goal - to the obvious anger of Spurs and their management team.
4

adj
Of a weapon: used in close-range combat, e.g. a sword. Compare with ranged.

A melee weapon is used to attack a target within 5 feet of you, whereas a ranged weapon is used to attack a target at a distance.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Simplified etymology

Melee came from French and is historically the same word as medley. Its ultimate source is Latin misculare, “to mix,” and the word came to denote a confused fight or scuffle because the combatants were mixed together.

Etymology

Borrowed from French mêlée, from Old French meslee, feminine past participle of mesler (“to mix”), derived from Latin misceō (“mix”). Doublet of medley.

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# melee

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈmeɪˌleɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɛˌleɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 41584

## Meanings
1. to attack with the hands or handheld not projectile weapon, typically in video games
2. A battle fought at close range, (especially) one not involving ranged weapons; hand-to-hand combat; brawling.
3. A loud, confused or tumultuous fight, argument or scrap.
4. Of a weapon: used in close-range combat, e.g. a sword. Compare with ranged.

## Examples
- I meleed my friend ten times in a row.
- Honestly, a lot of what this episode did right had more to do with the scenes that surrounded the enormous melee than those hyper-edited clashes of swords.
- The ball did not appear to cross the line, a view supported by television replays as Blues captain John Terry also joined the melee, but referee Atkinson awarded the goal - to the obvious anger of Spurs and their management team.
- A melee weapon is used to attack a target within 5 feet of you, whereas a ranged weapon is used to attack a target at a distance.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French mêlée, from Old French meslee, feminine past participle of mesler (“to mix”), derived from Latin misceō (“mix”). Doublet of medley.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown