duke

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈdük 

also ˈdyük

1

: a sovereign male ruler of a continental European duchy

2

: a nobleman of the highest hereditary rank

especially : a member of the highest grade of the British peerage

3

[probably from dukes of York, rhyming slang for fork (hand, fist)] slang : fist, hand

—usually used in plural

dukedom

ˈdük-dəm 

also ˈdyük-

noun

dukedom

2 of 2

noun (2)

duke·​dom -kdəm 

plural -s

1

: the state or territory ruled by a duke or duchess : duchy

2

: the rank or dignity of a duke

Examples of duke in a Sentence

Noun (1)

Put up your dukes and fight, you coward!

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But while Maras and his collaborators clearly know how to frame these events using impressive visual techniques, that sophistication struggles to connect emotionally as the acting and writing duke it out for the title of Bigger Disappointment. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026

Duchy is basically a fancy word for the territory of a duke—and as William is the current Duke of Cornwall, the 130,000-plus acres are his to steward. —Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 25 May 2026

Burnard and O’Shaughnessy point out that, whereas Britain regularly sent nobles to govern the Caribbean colonies—and dukes and earls to Ireland—the men appointed to administer the thirteen colonies more often lacked titles and were paid less. —Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

The Jets went into last year’s training camp prepared to let an undrafted rookie (Caden Davis) and another young kicker (Harrison Mevis) duke it out. —Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French duc, from Latin duc-, dux, from ducere to lead — more at tow entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English ducdom, from duc, duke + -dom

First Known Use

Noun (1)

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing duke

• duke it out
• grand duke

Rhymes for duke

• fluke
• juke
• kook
• luc
• luke
• nuke
• puke
• souk
• spook
• archduke
• rebuke
• caoutchouc

Kids Definition

duke

noun

ˈd(y)ük

1

: a soveriegn ruler of a duchy

2

: a nobleman of the highest rank especially of the British nobility

3

slang : fist sense 1

—usually used in plural