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
Manasi Pathak, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
So, yes, in a face-off, the Golf GTI wins.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
Lewis Tan led the 2021 film as Cole Young, an MMA fighter facing off against Outworld enemies in a high-stakes battle for the universe.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Noun
But before his last-four clash with the Serb on Saturday, Alcaraz will swing more than his tennis racquet, facing compatriot and 2017 Masters champion, Sergio Garcia, in a golf face-off.
—Manasi Pathak, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
So, yes, in a face-off, the Golf GTI wins.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
Daredevil, aka the blind lawyer Matt Murdock, faced off against Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin, who ascended to mayor of New York City.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
Lewis Tan led the 2021 film as Cole Young, an MMA fighter facing off against Outworld enemies in a high-stakes battle for the universe.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-off
Noun
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There is also a danger that anger with Hamas and rivalries within the Palestinian community in Gaza could now explode, analysts say.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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The men’s opposing theories, murder versus suicide, became entangled in a rivalry over who had known and understood him best.—
Eren Orbey,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Nuts for nostalgia KFC is far from the only chain banking on nostalgia these days as competing restaurants fight for consumer attention.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
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So far, the brand has focused on fully electric models, with its most recent release being the T1 hatchback, which competes with the BYD Dolphin and Geely Xingyuan.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The battle of the rotations Pretty much every night, their starting pitcher was better than your starting pitcher.—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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That includes research presentations on hip-hop, identity and activism, interactive workshops in education and creative practice, and a freestyle dance battle.—
Liz Rothaus Bertrand,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For the last several years, award-winning filmmaker Richard Ladkani has been at work on a pair of films, among them the current Oscar-contending Yanuni, about a woman Indigenous leader who is fighting to save the Brazilian Amazon at great personal risk.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
13 Oct. 2025
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Defensively, the Bills are not good enough to truly contend for a Super Bowl — at least not yet.—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Game 4 was high-intensity from the jump with Cristopher Sanchez and Tyler Glasnow going head-to-head in a pitchers' duel.—
Valentina Martinez,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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The hope is more of a fiery attitude could lead to more duels won.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Williams, who for many years was the person on KU’s sideline to race onto the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium turf to retrieve the tee after kickoffs, from 1970 until 2020 didn’t miss a KU football home game.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
8 Oct. 2025
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Sheary played fast and made a few hustle plays, most notably racing to stick-check Ben Kindel and break up a first-period shot attempt after Kindel appeared to shake free on the right wing.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Historically, Goldman says bubbles tend to be driven by a specific innovation, investors pile-in, there’s a rush of capital and competition from new companies, which in turn pushes up prices and valuations, increasing systemic risks.—
Tasmin Lockwood,
CNBC,
8 Oct. 2025
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With fewer insurers willing to provide insurance in Florida than in New Hampshire, there is less competition, which leads to higher premiums.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Call it a conversation, not a confrontation.—
Dianna Russini,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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The uptick in confrontations comes as the administration increases its efforts to deport millions of undocumented migrants, an approach critics say has led to aggressive enforcement tactics, due process violations and the mistreatment of migrants.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Face-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-off. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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