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

The duel between Sauron and Galadriel makes an interesting contrast with the epic Siege of Eregion that took place between armies of elves and orcs in the previous episode. —Christian Holub, EW.com, 4 Oct. 2024

Tracking back defensively, getting into defensive duels and positioning himself better on defense, if not winning the ball back entirely. —Braidon Nourse, The Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2024

Verb

There have been bigger at-bats in Mets history, but few drenched with as much narrative drama and dueling bits of symbolism. —Jerry Beach, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024

The result was a trilogy that’s a mishmash of dueling creative visions. —James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Oct. 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"