Plural of cockfight; illegal fights between roosters where people bet money on the outcome.
From 'cock' (rooster) + 'fight'; cockfighting dates to ancient times in India and Persia, spreading to Europe and colonial America where it was a popular sport among all social classes until bans began in the 1800s.
Cockfighting was so culturally significant that George Washington and other Founding Fathers attended matches, and it's still illegal in all 50 US states plus most countries—yet it persists as an underground activity, showing how deeply rooted certain traditions become.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.