feud
1 Americannoun
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Also called blood feud. a bitter, continuous hostility, especially between two families, clans, etc., often lasting for many years or generations.
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a bitter quarrel or contention.
a feud between labor and management.
- Synonyms:
- difference, argument
verb (used without object)
noun
noun
-
long and bitter hostility between two families, clans, or individuals; vendetta
-
a quarrel or dispute
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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feudsimple
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feudssimple
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have feudedperfect
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has feudedperfect
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am feudingprogressive
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are feudingprogressive
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is feudingprogressive
-
have been feudingperfect progressive
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has been feudingperfect progressive
Past
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feudedsimple
-
had feudedperfect
-
was feudingprogressive
-
were feudingprogressive
-
had been feudingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of feud1
1300–50; variant of fead ( a misread as u ), Middle English fede < Middle French fe ( i ) de < Old High German fēhida; cognate with Old English fǣhth enmity. See foe, -th 1
Origin of feud2
1605–15; < Medieval Latin feudum, variant of feodum. See fee
Explanation
A feud is a long-standing fight, often between two families. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare describes the lovers' long-feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Feuds do not have to be violent—what characterizes them is long-standing hostility. Ethnic groups can sometimes be said to be feuding. Kids in school who refuse to sit at the same lunch table over a period of years could describe their relationship as a feud.
Vocabulary lists containing feud
Beowulf vocabulary
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"Romeo and Juliet" and "West Side Story"
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"The Interlopers" and "An Interview with the King of Terror"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Unfortunately, one of the people who paid the ultimate price in this feud is Anna’s coworker, whom she couldn’t leave out of her personal problems.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
China remains locked in a simmering trade feud with the EU, with which it recorded a trade surplus of $32.9 billion in June.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
But nothing comes close to the 64-year-old World Cup feud that is England vs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
A podcast that ends an ancient beef: On Slate’s ICYMI, host Kate Lindsay reveals she’s in an unspoken, decade-long Venmo feud, and then gets some expert help on bringing it to a close.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
Lastly, there was my ongoing feud with Ambrose.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
But Wall Street Journal readers ranked this grudge match far behind some of the famous feuds of U.S. sports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“Neighbor disputes are a great leveler,” says Harrison Fishman, who co-directs this gonzo excursion into neighborhood feuds with Dylan Redford.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
"In Venezuela we don't want feuds," baseball fan Gerardo Oliviera told AFP as cars and motorbikes roared through the streets of the capital, proudly displaying the country's flag.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
The figures and feuds are too numerous to list, but they share a common intensity.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2026
The walls of Hob made a fortress some nights, rescuing them from the feuds and conspiracies.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Instead of collecting trophies, he sued a rival franchise, feuded with fans and—despite his success elsewhere in the entertainment world—relentlessly attacked the NBA itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Members of his team have feuded over policy.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
Other critics included far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is Jewish and who has feuded with both Carlson and Fuentes in recent months.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2025
Following the release of her second full-length album “Am I the Drama?” in September, the “I Like It” singer publicly feuded with Nicki Minaj.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025
She had feuded for years with another picker named Bertha, who finally put a curse on her.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Over the course of a few days, this bashful teen, always armed with her camcorder and far less free-spirited than her cousins, will be beset by her father’s feuding family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Now Kostrzewa, who heads a business union, is appealing to both sides to set the feuding aside and focus on the economy.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
British mariners shipwrecked on Palau some 50 years earlier had helped another confederation, the Koror people, in war with a feuding village.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
He also called on Philippine Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who is feuding with the Duterte political dynasty, to file a local case against him if he believed him to be guilty.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
Two: Moniba and I have gone back to our silly old feuding.
From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.