Definition

1. Noun:
   • An angry dispute or argument: A "dustup" is an informal term for a heated disagreement, quarrel, or brief fight, often involving shouting or minor physical confrontation. It implies a sudden or noisy conflict.

Usage

• "Dustup" is a countable noun, typically used in informal or journalistic contexts to describe a minor but intense conflict.
• It is often used with verbs like "have," "get into," or "cause."
• Example:

Examples

• Noun:
  • There was a minor dustup at the bar last night, but the bouncers broke it up quickly.
  • The meeting ended in a dustup between the manager and her assistant.
  • Their dustup was over something trivial, but feelings were hurt.

Advanced Usage

• "to have a dustup with someone": to be involved in a quarrel or fight with someone.
  • He had a dustup with his neighbor about the property line.
• "to cause a dustup": to be the reason for a conflict or scandal.
  • The controversial article caused a real dustup in the academic community.

Variants and Related Words

• Dust-up (n): An alternative spelling with a hyphen. The meaning is identical.
  • The newspaper reported on the latest political dust-up.

Synonyms

• Quarrel: An angry argument or disagreement.
• Altercation: A noisy argument or confrontation.
• Fracas: A noisy disturbance or quarrel.
• Spat: A petty quarrel (often less serious than a dustup).
• Row: A noisy argument or dispute (common in British English).

Related Phrases

• Brush-up: A brief, often minor, conflict or encounter. (Note: This is a related but distinct term).
  • He had a brush-up with the law.

Noun

1. an angry dispute
   • they had a quarrel
   • they had words