domestic
n. countablen. a fight or argument between people who live together, like a husband and wife. It is often used by the police or in news reports to describe a private family problem.
n. a dispute or violent altercation occurring within a household, typically between partners or family members. Often used as a shorthand in legal or law enforcement contexts; informal when used in general conversation.
The police arrived to handle a domestic next door.
Neighbors called the authorities after hearing a loud domestic that lasted for several hours late Saturday night.
While the term is frequently used in police radio shorthand to denote a domestic disturbance, social workers emphasize that such incidents often require specialized intervention beyond simple mediation.
From Middle French domestique, from Latin domesticus, from domus (“house, home”).
Commonly used as a countable noun in British and Australian English to refer to a domestic dispute; in American English, the full phrase 'domestic dispute' or 'domestic disturbance' is more frequent.