/free"feuhr awl'/ , n.
1. a fight, argument, contest, etc., open to everyone and usually without rules.
2. any competition or contested situation that is disordered, impulsive, or out of control: a free-for-all at the buffet table.
3. Informal. any enterprise or field of endeavor in which various companies, countries, participants, etc., compete without restriction: a price-cutting free-for-all among local stores.
adj.
4. open to everyone.
[ 1880-85, Amer. ]
Syn. 1. brawl, fracas, scrap, melee, donnybrook.