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

Still, if the Liberty would have lost, Ionescu’s shooting woes would have drawn inevitable comparisons to those of John Starks, the former New York Knicks guard who infamously shot 2-18 in another decisive championship duel, Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. —Sean Gregory, TIME, 21 Oct. 2024

Its Aleksandr fragrance, which has been on the market since 2012, imagines the smell on the final morning of writer Aleksander Pushkin’s life, which ended in a duel in January 1837. —Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 19 Oct. 2024

Verb

Harris and Trump are set to hold dueling campaign events in Arizona on Thursday, a signal that both campaigns see opportunity here. —Stephanie Murray, The Arizona Republic, 30 Oct. 2024

Schedule includes rallies in Wisconsin and North Carolina Both Harris and Trump will return to the Badger State on Friday with dueling rallies in Milwaukee, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal. —Terry Moseley, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024

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

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"