as in rivalry
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
the annual fall face-off between these traditional rivals is a big event for both football-mad colleges
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Recent Examples of face-off
Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 17 May 2025
Trump’s followers may communicate through memes and message boards, but their faith belongs to a much older mythology: the eternal face-off between shaman and witch, prophet and cabal.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 17 May 2025
Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2025
Florida and Toronto faced off four times during the regular season, with Florida winning three out of four.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Noun
Now, fans are preparing for the first face-off between two of the league's midwest teams—and fans are understandably hyped to see Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese reunite on the court.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 17 May 2025
Trump’s followers may communicate through memes and message boards, but their faith belongs to a much older mythology: the eternal face-off between shaman and witch, prophet and cabal.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 17 May 2025
Verb
For the third time this year, No. 2 Scripps Ranch and No. 4 Point Loma faced off in beach volleyball — this time in a CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoff elimination game.
—Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2025
Florida and Toronto faced off four times during the regular season, with Florida winning three out of four.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-off
Noun
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At times, the rivalry between the players has become the biggest topic of discussion in sports and eclipsed the athletic world, raising issues of race and gender equality.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
20 May 2025
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This is a space that is ripe for standardization, the entry of new players in the market, and more vendor rivalries and drama.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
20 May 2025
Verb
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Ultimately, five singers will compete for this season's crown.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
EW.com,
13 May 2025
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Over the subsequent period in NXT, Dolin competed in various singles matches and different tag team pairings.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 May 2025
Noun
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As a 60-person battle royale, matches can be extremely long and, in tournament play, repeat over and over for hours until a winning team can be crowned.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
20 May 2025
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Salter is also in a quarterback battle with true freshman Julian Lewis.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 May 2025
Verb
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In Piranha Plant Nap Mishap there are multiple alarm clocks with which to contend.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 May 2025
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The Baltimore Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde Saturday after the team’s slow start to the 2025 season after contending for the American League East title last season.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
17 May 2025
Noun
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In each episode, the first challenger, selected at random, must choose one of his or her neighboring opponents to go head-to-head in an epic quiz duel in the opponent’s category.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
10 May 2025
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The first challenger, selected at random, must choose one of his or her neighboring opponents to go head-to-head in an epic quiz duel in the opponent’s category.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Fils, the French No. 1, raced to the net to pick up a Tsitsipas drop shot and scooped it back into play.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
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In an interview with the Sunday Times, which was published in May but conducted in March, Brooklyn Beckham, 26, credited his dad with inspiring his love of racing at a young age while discussing his experience at the Formula E Evo Sessions in Miami at the Miami International Autodrome.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
12 May 2025
Noun
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The event is the world's biggest music competition, watched by more than 160 million people across the world.—
John Revill,
USA Today,
19 May 2025
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With only five returning players, even Clark said Indiana needed competition to learn more about areas of improvement.—
Ben Pickman,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
Noun
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Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
12 May 2025
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While Ratcliffe seems to thrive in conflict, the Glazers do not like confrontation.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Face-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-off. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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