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

Snell opened the seventh by walking Andrew Vaughn and losing an 11-pitch duel to Bauers, who won the battle with a two-run homer. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

The anticipated pitchers' duel between Yamamoto and Henderson didn't work out according to plan. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

Verb

Holed up in Diane Taverner’s (Kristin Scott Thomas) seaside cottage and the surrounding beach, the Horses wage war against the dueling factions, with onetime faithful Dog Flyte (Ruth Bradley) taking a bullet on the beach. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026

The dueling announcements came as Republicans are increasingly worried about retaining their majorities in both chambers of Congress. — Dan Mangan,luke Fountain, CNBC, 20 Oct. 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"