as in one-on-one
in direct confrontation or competition
that inexperienced, upstart candidate will be going eyeball-to-eyeball with a senator who's a skilled debater
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eyeball-to-eyeball
Adverb
-
Corrigan says the vulnerability is in data breaches, not face-to-face scams.—
Wes Kilgore,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026 -
Analysts say these three IPOs could reshape markets and inject new volatility into equities, as already sky-high expectations for AI companies come face-to-face with the reality of how these companies are run.—
John Ruwitch,
NPR,
11 June 2026
Adverb
-
Tie breakers are decided by, in order, head-to-head results, goal difference and goals scored.—
Boston Herald,
Boston Herald,
12 June 2026
-
The four Black candidates held a series of meetings in an attempt to coalesce around one challenger to go head-to-head with Wasserman Schultz.—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
12 June 2026
Adverb
-
Perkins, who is CEO of Canva, addressed head-on the concerns among many who work in creative industries about the potential for AI to supplant human labor.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Figures of Crisis makes productive use of this commonplace idea by tackling it head-on and turning it inside out.—
Ara H. Merjian,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Eyeball-to-eyeball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eyeball-to-eyeball. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
