as in head-to-head
in direct confrontation or competition
the two brothers decided to go mano a mano in one final match to determine who was the better tennis player
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mano a mano
There was no mano a mano moment between James and Bryant.
—
Zach Harper, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Zoë survived two blasts and one mano a mano confrontation with Beelzebub!
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
Though neither is exactly a revelation — in the sense that these talents were revealed long ago — each gets space for menacing monologues and mano a mano match-ups.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 4 Dec. 2025
Surreal and dreamlike vignettes, and some laugh out loud moments of levity, break up mano a mano scenes in that hut that test the intensity of Bean and Day-Lewis.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mano a mano
Zach Harper, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Zoë survived two blasts and one mano a mano confrontation with Beelzebub!
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
Though neither is exactly a revelation — in the sense that these talents were revealed long ago — each gets space for menacing monologues and mano a mano match-ups.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 4 Dec. 2025
Surreal and dreamlike vignettes, and some laugh out loud moments of levity, break up mano a mano scenes in that hut that test the intensity of Bean and Day-Lewis.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mano a mano
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mano a mano
Adverb
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Sinner trimmed Alcaraz’s head-to-head lead to 10-7 in clinching his 27th career title overall and his first Masters title on clay.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
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In the competitive landscape, the model is expected to go head-to-head with rivals such as the Geely Galaxy M9, a large plug-in hybrid SUV that has already demonstrated strong early market traction with more than 11,000 deliveries in just the first two months of the year.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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There were a number of meetings, including Lively and Baldoni meeting face-to-face in a Manhattan courtroom a couple months ago.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
6 Apr. 2026
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Many participants had spent months competing against one another online before meeting face-to-face for the first time.—
Tracy Yochum,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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One accelerant of America’s decline as a superpower will be that former allies will look elsewhere for their safety, while adversaries will recalculate the right time to challenge Washington head-on.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
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The Ford then collided head-on with a Lincoln MKX, the sheriff's office said.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mano a mano.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mano%20a%20mano. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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