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
dueled or duelled; dueling or duelling
: to fight a duel
: to encounter (an opponent) in a duel
dueler
noun
or dueller
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
Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026
At a party, Onegin gets a bit handsy with his friend’s bride-to-be and Lensky has no choice, presumably, but to challenge the other man to a duel.
—Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Elias Burke, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Inglewood’s digital billboards have sparked a high-stakes showdown between WOW Media and operators of SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum, with dueling initiatives probably headed to voters.
—Christopher Damien, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for duel
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Noun
Our last playoff game was also a pitcher’s duel.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026
At a party, Onegin gets a bit handsy with his friend’s bride-to-be and Lensky has no choice, presumably, but to challenge the other man to a duel.
—Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Verb
Around the same time as Duran was duelling with Sugar Ray Leonard in the 1980s, Rolando Blackman, born and raised in Panama City, was becoming an NBA All-Star with the Dallas Mavericks.
—Elias Burke, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Inglewood’s digital billboards have sparked a high-stakes showdown between WOW Media and operators of SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum, with dueling initiatives probably headed to voters.
—Christopher Damien, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for duel
Cite this Entry
“Duel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duel. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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"
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