duel

1 of 2

noun

du·​el ˈdü-əl 

 also  ˈdyü-

1

: a combat between two persons

specifically : a formal combat with weapons fought between two persons in the presence of witnesses

2

: a conflict between antagonistic persons, ideas, or forces

also : a hard-fought contest between two opponents

duel

2 of 2

verb

dueled or duelled; dueling or duelling

intransitive verb

: to fight a duel

transitive verb

: to encounter (an opponent) in a duel

dueler noun

or dueller

duelist noun

or duellist

ˈd(y)ü-ə-list 

Synonyms

Noun

• ball game
• battle
• combat
• competition
• conflict
• confrontation
• contention
• contest
• dogfight
• face-off
• grapple
• match
• rivalry
• strife
• struggle
• sweepstakes
• sweep-stake
• tug-of-war
• war
• warfare

Examples of duel in a Sentence

Noun

They engaged in a duel of wits.

a duel for the title of captain of the team

Verb

He accepted the challenge to duel.

Legislators dueled over the tax increases.

The two runners dueled for the lead.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Another ancestor had been on the Hudson River, in 1804, when Alexander Hamilton was being rowed back to Manhattan after his duel with Aaron Burr. —Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2025

Just 26, Cindric won the second Daytona duel Thursday night in a photo finish and will sit on the front row to start Sunday’s race. —Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2025

Verb

At present, Baldoni and Lively’s dueling lawsuits are scheduled to head to trial next March. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 5 Mar. 2025

The Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama is showing no signs of ending, particularly with dueling lawsuits ongoing. —Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 4 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Medieval Latin duellum, from Old Latin, war

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1645, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for duel

• cruel
• dual
• fuel
• gruel
• jewel
• newel
• accrual
• nonfuel
• refuel
• renewal
• biofuel
• contextual

Kids Definition

duel

1 of 2 noun

du·​el ˈd(y)ü-əl 

1

: a combat between two persons

especially : one fought with weapons in the presence of witnesses

2

: a conflict between two opponents

duel

2 of 2 verb

dueled or duelled; dueling or duelling

: to fight in a duel

dueler noun

or dueller

duelist noun

or duellist

ˈd(y)ü-ə-ləst 

Etymology

Noun

from Latin duellum "duel," from an archaic form of earlier bellum "war"; revived in the Middle Ages to mean combat between two persons because the du- suggested Latin duo "two"