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

Liverpool could afford to carry another underwhelming display from the wasteful Nunez, who completed just 10 of his 19 passes (53 per cent), won just one out of four duels (25 per cent) and forced a save with just one of his four attempts on goal. —James Pearce, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024

But a birdie on the par-3 12th by Team Langer began the dramatic nip-and-tuck duel between the Hall of Fame fathers and their sons. —Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024

Verb

Staying in 📺 Magical Santas, meet-cutes and dueling Donna Kelce roles: Take a look at Hallmark’s best holiday movies. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2024

Yes, there are somehow dueling Ohio popcorn parties — but this ball is actually popcorn. —Alissa Widman Neese, Axios, 20 Dec. 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"