How to Use altercation in a Sentence

altercation

noun
  • It was not known if the two men knew each other or what led up to the altercation.
    — City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Banks said he got involved in an altercation about a month ago when the fire alarm went off at night.
    — Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2023
  • There is no knowledge of what the altercation was about.
    — Kelsey Brown, San Antonio Express-News, 4 Jan. 2026
  • Bartek was off duty when he was shot twice in the back during the altercation.
    — Joshua Gunter, cleveland, 11 Jan. 2022
  • Four other women make their way over to them to break up the altercation.
    — Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 7 May 2024
  • Their friends got involved, and the altercation spilled into the front yard.
    — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Not for nothing — no one in this altercation is wearing a helmet on their bike!
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Police have not publicly said what led to the altercation.
    — Elissa Jorgensen, Dallas Morning News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Here is a video of the altercation that Griner had with the referee.
    — Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
  • This led to an altercation with a group of men, who then chased Bakari outside of the bar and beat him to death.
    — Malaika Jabali, Essence, 10 Feb. 2022
  • The altercation grew to include more men and then spilled into the parking lot.
    — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2026
  • One of the bystanders was struck in the arm during the initial altercation.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
  • The two men got into a physical altercation, and then shots were fired.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 11 Feb. 2023
  • The department did not say how many shots were fired during the altercation.
    — Craig Shoup, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Tensions boiled over late in the match when a physical altercation broke out.
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026
  • Footage was captured of the altercation that occurred near a baggage claim area.
    — Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 7 May 2024
  • Antao was left cut and bloodied by the altercation.
    — Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Spears said Johnson was shot in the course of an altercation at the home of his child’s mother.
    — Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
  • At least three others were seen recording the altercation.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Adriana James-Rodil, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Knicks coach Mike Brown fell while trying to break up the altercation.
    — Devon Henderson, New York Times, 1 May 2026
  • There was an altercation, and as the men were leaving, one of them turned around and shot a woman who was inside.
    — Emily Holshouser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Duren was forced to sit for two games for initiating the altercation.
    — ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • The footage does not include the moments leading up to the altercation.
    — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
  • His family has requested the body cam footage of the altercation, but has not been able to view it.
    — Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Feb. 2025
  • That disturbance led to the parking lot altercation where shots were fired.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2026
  • The source of the black eye is often a blow to the area, whether caused by an altercation, fall, or impact by a hard object.
    — Maxine Lipner, Verywell Health, 29 July 2024
  • The staff and students are happier and there are less altercations.
    — Melissa Willets, Parents, 7 Sep. 2023
  • The 18-year-old’s boyfriend was seen in the footage attempting to stop the altercation.
    — Angel Saunders, People.com, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Shots were fired after an altercation broke out, the outlet noted.
    — Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
  • He was once charged with simple assault and battery in an altercation with a neighbor.
    — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'altercation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: