rough house

A group of children engage in a friendly rough house in the backyard.

Definition

1. Noun (informal):
   • Rough house refers to boisterous, disorderly, or rowdy play or behavior, often involving physical horseplay or roughhousing.
2. Verb (informal):
   • To rough house means to engage in rough, lively, or disorderly play or fighting, typically without serious intent.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The children’s rough house in the living room broke a lamp. (Their boisterous play caused damage.)
  • The party turned into a rough house after midnight. (The event became noisy and disorderly.)

• Verb:

  • The boys like to rough house in the backyard after school. (They engage in rough, playful wrestling.)
  • Stop rough housing, or someone will get hurt! (A warning to stop rowdy behavior.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be a rough house": to describe a place or situation characterized by chaos or disorder.
  • The pub is a rough house on Friday nights. (The establishment is rowdy and unruly.)
• "rough house tactics": aggressive or disruptive methods used in a situation.
  • The politician used rough house tactics to intimidate opponents. (He employed aggressive, disorderly strategies.)

Variants and Related Words

• Roughhousing (noun): the act of engaging in rough, playful activity.
  • Roughhousing is common among young animals. (Playful, physical wrestling.)
• Roughhouser (noun, rare): a person who engages in rough house behavior.
  • He was known as a roughhouser at parties. (Someone who causes disorder.)

Synonyms

• Horseplay: rough, boisterous play.
• Rowdiness: disorderly or noisy behavior.
• Fisticuffs: fighting with fists (often in a playful context).

Phrasal Verbs

• Rough house around: to engage in rough play in a specific area.
  • The kids rough house around the playground equipment. (They play roughly near the structures.)
• Rough house with: to play roughly with someone.
  • He likes to rough house with his older brother. (He wrestles playfully with him.)

Related Idioms

• Raise a rough house: to cause a disturbance or uproar.
  • The fans raised a rough house after the controversial call. (They created a noisy commotion.)
• Make a rough house: to turn a situation into chaos.
  • The toddlers made a rough house of the playroom. (They left it in disarray.)

Notes on Usage

• This term is informal and often used in contexts involving children or playful adults. It is rarely used in formal writing.
• The verb form is often written as one word () in dictionaries, but the two-word form is common in casual speech.
• Avoid using to describe serious violence; it implies playfulness or lack of malicious intent.