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 of duel

Noun

• rivalry
• battle
• struggle
• competition
• confrontation
• warfare
• war
• conflict
• contention

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

Pries’s suggestion, known as the inverse Galois problem, was inspired by the work of the 19th-century French mathematician Évariste Galois, who perished after he was wounded in a gun duel at age 20. — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026

The fans in Auburn, Alabama, came out, leaning from ramps and peeking from tents to catch a glimpse of their new administrations, each in their first SEC duel of the year. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026

Verb

The contempt finding bookended a dizzying week in which state and federal courts issued dueling rulings over which congressional map to use in the November elections. — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026

The club announced that Reynaldo López will face left-hander David Peterson on Tuesday, and Martin Pérez will duel right-hander Kevin Gausman on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. — Jesús Cano, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

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

• accrual
• nonfuel
• refuel
• renewal
• biofuel
• contextual
• nonrenewal
• nonsexual
• unusual
• cruel
• dual
• fuel

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"