Fisticuff
noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A fistfight. rare
"Every fifteen or twenty minutes there was a rush to some part, to witness a fisticuff."
- 2 A cuff or blow administered with the fist. obsolete
"The apprenticeship of the Prussian Crown Princes has always consisted in receiving fisticuffs and cowhidings from their progenitor, the king."
- 1 To engage in a physical fight. humorous
"Generously scattering a drop of my fortune on an early morning sea breeze. Should have jumped after it. Grabber at life's banquet follows a fortune to doom. As folk fleece and fisticuff in street."
- 2 To strike, fight or spar with the fists. obsolete
"Do they fisticuff with thunder-snaggs […]"
Example
More examples"Every fifteen or twenty minutes there was a rush to some part, to witness a fisticuff."
Etymology
From fist + cuff (“blow with the hand”). Modern uses as a verb are a back-formation on the plural uses of the noun.
More for "fisticuff"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.