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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of face-off
Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025
For Cuomo the stakes of the face-off were especially high.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
This year, Katseye will face off against Olivia Dean, the Marías, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, and Lola Young.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Noun
Roberts' costar Ayo Edebiri talks about their intense face-off.
—Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025
For Cuomo the stakes of the face-off were especially high.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
The first 30 minutes had the disjointed, stop-start look of two freshmen quarterbacks facing off, struggling to find their respective rhythms early.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
This year, Katseye will face off against Olivia Dean, the Marías, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, and Lola Young.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-off
Noun
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In recent decades, Thailand and Cambodia have had a complicated relationship of both cooperation and rivalry.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
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The Fighting Irish have absolutely dominated the rivalry in recent years, taking down the Panthers with a 58-7 final score in 2023 and a 45-3 final score in 2020.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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It is measured in the millions of students striving for opportunity—most of them raising children, working jobs, serving in uniform, or making rent and mortgage payments with other bills competing for their attention.—
Yolanda Watson Spiva,
Fortune,
8 Nov. 2025
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The Co-Production Market will feature 22 feature films and five documentaries competing for $20,000 in cash grants.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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History buffs should head to Saratoga National Historic Park, which was the site of two pivotal Revolutionary War battles.—
Cat Sposato,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Nov. 2025
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What began as a grassroots open-records request has now branched into a multifront legal battle.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Many contend that those targeted during the purges were not communists but ethnic Chinese, or anyone with left wing views.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
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Anderson himself is expected to seriously contend for his first-ever Oscar victory, after 11 prior noms, in both the directing and writing categories.—
Scott Feinberg,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The return from injury of Gravenberch, who won six of his eight duels, was another welcome sight, along with Alexis Mac Allister completing 90 minutes for Liverpool for the first time since April.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Much like the classic Tom Brady-Peyton Manning duels of old, the quarterback matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen — the two current MVP frontrunners — is can’t-miss television.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Like me — a reluctant movie guy who never liked racing, and now somehow has three racecars.—
Chris Cardillo,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
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Toyota already has a rich history racing those events in truck/car classes, so why not stamp its name on a separate page of the books?—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Starbucks has also come under intense competition from the surging popularity of tea drinks chains like Mixue Bingcheng, ChaGee and HeyTea.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
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Several banks lowered their price targets following the earnings report, pointing to increasing competition from larger social platforms like Instagram and TikTok and concerns over macro headwinds.—
Jaures Yip,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The confrontation, which played out on a livestream, quickly went viral and garnered the attention of pageant followers worldwide.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
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After all, the tension between these planets can stir up emotional confrontations, magnetic attractions and psychological power plays.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Face-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-off. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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