deuce

1 of 2

noun

ˈdüs 

 also  ˈdyüs

plural deuces

1

a(1)

: the face of a die that bears two spots

(2)

: a playing card bearing an index number two

b

: a throw of the dice yielding two points

2

: a tie in tennis after each side has scored 40 requiring two consecutive points by one side to win

3

a

: devil, dickens

—used chiefly as a mild oath

what the deuce is he up to now

b

: something notable of its kind

a deuce of a mess

4

informal : the fecal matter expelled during one bowel movement

—usually used in the phrase drop a deuce

If you live in new dorms and you need to drop a deuce in private, just walk down to the first floor and use the bathroom that is traditionally reserved for parents and visitors.

—Veronica Sirotic

deuce

2 of 2

verb

deuced; deucing

transitive verb

: to bring the score of (a tennis game or set) to deuce

Examples of deuce in a Sentence

Noun

She beat her opponent after eight deuces.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Brown played the deuce court in the finals, Grinner the ad side. —Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023

The second set was a tougher challenge, with deuce points after deuce points, and Djokovic at one point collapsing to the court after a long rally. —Julie Mazziotta, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2023

Sabalenka had opportunities to retrieve the break, but a handful of key misses — including a short ball forehand at deuce in the very next game — allowed Gauff to stay in front the rest of the way. —Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2023

If both players reach 40 points, it’s called deuce. —Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 26 Aug. 2023

The game had eight deuces, and Wolf forced three break points but could not convert any. —James Weber, The Enquirer, 16 Aug. 2023

The first game, seemingly critical if Gibson were to turn the tide, went to deuce time and again, but Brough managed to hold her serve. —Sally H. Jacobs, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Aug. 2023

The fifth game of the set, with Djokovic serving, was an astonishment: thirteen deuces, as Alcaraz earned break point after break point and Djokovic somehow saved them again and again—nearly twenty-seven minutes of tennis, all of it stressful and consequential, much of it remarkable. —Gerald Marzorati, The New Yorker, 17 July 2023

With Djokovic serving at 1-3 in the third set, the two men played a 32-point game with 13 deuces that lasted over 26 minutes. —David Waldstein, New York Times, 16 July 2023

Verb

With Alcaraz serving and seemingly on his way to a routine hold at 40-15, Medvedev managed to reel him back him in to deuce. —Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 9 Sep. 2023

Hovde was serving down 1-0 and went up 40-love before Udvardy responded to force deuce. —Peter Warren, Dallas News, 9 July 2022

The right guard and right tackle will deuce double team block their defensive tackle to the #2 linebacker Pete Werner. —Lance Reisland, cleveland, 23 Dec. 2022

In the second game, both struggled to secure a win, constantly going from an advantage back to deuce. —Kris Rhim, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2022

Alcaraz won a game that went to deuce five times, sending them to the tiebreak. —Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2022

The first set of Wednesday’s three-hour, 27-minute match at Arthur Ashe Stadium featured an epic, 20-point game that went to deuce seven times. —Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2021

With the score 5-5 and Keys serving, Stephens jumped to 0-40 lead, only to see Keys dismiss three break points and get back to deuce. —Alex Coffey, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2021

Despite a weak second serve, Berrettini held serve in a game that went to deuce six times, cutting Djokovic’s lead to 4-2. —Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2021

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English dwsse, dews, dewes, borrowed from Anglo-French deus "two" (continental Old French dous, masculine accusative), going back to Latin duōs, accusative of duo; (sense 3) perhaps of independent origin; (sense 4) probably alluding to number two — more at two entry 1

Note: In expressions such as "a deuce on him," "a deuce take me," current from the 1650's, deuce is clearly a euphemism for "devil." The reason for the choice of deuce rather than another word has inspired several explanations, none entirely satisfactory. The editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, apparently following an article by A. L. Mayhew (The Academy, vol. 41, no. 1030, January 30, 1892, pp. 11-12) propose that deuce was borrowed from Low German duus in the same sense: "compare German daus, Low German duus, used in precisely the same way, in the exclamatory der daus! was der daus …! Low German de duus! wat de duus!" A Low German source is not specified by the editors, but Daus is entered in Grimm's Deutsches Wörterbuch with the meaning "deuce" in cards and dice, and as a euphemism for "devil" (Teufel, Low German Düvel). The parallel with English deuce is noted, but there is no suggestion that the English word was borrowed from German. This is indeed a weakness of Mayhew's hypothesis: the parallelism connecting the two languages does not necessarily imply borrowing of the word itself, and borrowing would not in any case explain why in particular duus/daus developed a secondary meaning.

Verb

derivative of deuce entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

1919, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing deuce

• a deuce of
• drop a deuce
• a deuce of a time

• a deuce of
• drop a deuce
• a deuce of a time

Kids Definition

deuce

noun

ˈd(y)üs

1

a

: the face of a die that bears two spots

b

: a playing card bearing the number two

c

: a throw of dice resulting in two points

2

: a tie in tennis after each side has scored 40

3

: devil entry 1 sense 1, dickens

—used chiefly as a mild oath

Etymology

Noun

from early French deus "two," from Latin duos (same meaning), from duo "two" — related to dual