mano a mano

adverb or adjective

ma·​no a ma·​no ˌmä-nō-ä-ˈmä-nō 

: in direct competition or conflict especially between two people

Synonyms

• eyeball-to-eyeball
• face-to-face
• head-on
• head-to-head
• one-on-one
• toe-to-toe

Examples of mano a mano in a Sentence

the two brothers decided to go mano a mano in one final match to determine who was the better tennis player

Recent Examples on the Web

The mano a mano dynamic between the pair yields Milioti and Farrell’s best work, but the interplay viewers will crave peaks far too early. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2024

Ritchie always throws a party, being of a generation impervious to war and social responsibility, yet his film savvy evokes mano a mano and explosive classics, from The Dirty Dozen and The Guns of Navarone to the Reagan-Bush era Indiana Jones films. —Armond White, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024

The culmination of the Gavin Newsom-Ron DeSantis bromance was a mano a mano mess of a matchup of two governors who depend on each other to whip up the kind of polarizing frenzy that feeds headlines and advances careers. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2023

For those who are blissfully unaware, DeSantis earlier this month accepted Newsom’s mano a mano challenge to debate on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show. —Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, hand to hand

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above