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
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 28 Feb. 2026
From Heated Rivalry to a heated face-off!
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 7 Mar. 2026
Wimberley will play La Marque at James Earl Rudder High School and Westlake will face off against Judson at Buda Hays for a spots in their respective semifinals.
—American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Noun
Expect a court face-off that will shape the landscape of Hollywood for years to come.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 28 Feb. 2026
From Heated Rivalry to a heated face-off!
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
Verb
Boise State and Colorado State are the only two within the group facing off this weekend.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 7 Mar. 2026
Wimberley will play La Marque at James Earl Rudder High School and Westlake will face off against Judson at Buda Hays for a spots in their respective semifinals.
—American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-off
Noun
-
Devoted fans will catch every clever nod, while newcomers can enjoy the romance, rivalry, and Regency ridiculousness without the multi-volume commitment.—
Cincinnati Enquirer,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The long-simmering rivalry between Sunni and Shiite Muslims erupted into a civil war that killed tens of thousands of civilians.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Executives have been preaching the virtues of consolidation, framing it as the only way for legacy media companies to compete with technology companies.—
Lucas Shaw,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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Implats, which competes with Valterra and Sibanye-Stillwater in the platinum group metals market, has a long-standing presence in Zimbabwe, having steadily built its stake in Zimplats in the early 2000s and become the dominant owner, holding more than 80% of the company.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The war inside The game was ultimately decided by the battle inside the paint as TCU’s frontline of Punch and junior center Xavier Edmonds scrapped and clawed with Kansas’ talented big men Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Mar. 2026
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He was involved in multiple relegation battles and believes having the right mindset is key.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 jobs in February 2026, contradicting expectations for job growth, and the author contends this represents a fundamental weakness in the administration’s economic narrative.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU of Northern California contend that ALPR cameras facilitate unconstitutional, warrantless searches given officers have no requirement to prove probable cause of a crime when searching the plate data.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Two top City Section baseball teams, El Camino Real and San Fernando, faced off Friday in a pitcher’s duel that went eight innings.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Both teams seem to be settling into a duel between two aces.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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According to Tandy, as more states adopt age-verification mandates and companies race to comply, the infrastructure behind those systems is likely to become a permanent fixture of online life.—
Barbara Booth,
CNBC,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The other six warned the city was racing toward a costly and uncertain exit strategy.—
Devyani Chhetri,
Dallas Morning News,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That is to say that the way the current system is set up distorts the healthcare economy in ways that don’t allow for much price competition, with ever-rising insurance premiums as the result.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
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Several regional nations have recently become key targets in a great power competition between the US and China for greater control of the continent’s resources.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Analysts say intelligence sharing would represent a low-risk way for Russia to support Iran while avoiding direct confrontation with the United States, even as Moscow balances in the region.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Ideological opposition turned to proxy confrontation through Iran's support for Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and for Hezbollah, which fought Israel during its long occupation of southern Lebanon.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Face-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-off. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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