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
Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
The duel rulings mean Anthropic will remain barred from DOD contracts but can keep working with other government agencies while each legal challenge moves forward.
—Samantha Subin,hugh Son, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2026
Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2026
Saints Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, located near Little Havana, has been at the center of a years-long dispute over property and parish control which led to dueling lawsuits, accusations of fraud and the excommunication of long-standing parish leaders.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for duel
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Noun
One of the best ways to disrupt a team that wants to create essentially 10 duels on the pitch is for players to move into different areas and rotate, dragging their marker into unfamiliar, uncomfortable positions.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
The duel rulings mean Anthropic will remain barred from DOD contracts but can keep working with other government agencies while each legal challenge moves forward.
—Samantha Subin,hugh Son, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
The dueling claims highlight the deep mistrust between the two sides and underscore the difficulty of enforcing even temporary pauses in fighting.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2026
Saints Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, located near Little Havana, has been at the center of a years-long dispute over property and parish control which led to dueling lawsuits, accusations of fraud and the excommunication of long-standing parish leaders.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 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 13 Apr. 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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