melee

Meanings

1. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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

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