as in tournaments
a competitive encounter between individuals or groups carried on for amusement, exercise, or in pursuit of a prize
a boxing matchup that promises to be a sportswriter's dream
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Recent Examples of matchups
The Jayhawks are well aware of that, having played some tough matchups against the Mountaineers over the years.
—
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
Of the three potential playoff matchups Carolina could have gotten against NFC West teams, this one is the most winnable.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 10 Jan. 2026
After the wild-card round, the matchups are determined by the lowest remaining seeds traveling on the road to face the teams with a higher seed.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
From Saturday through Monday, playoff teams will face win-or-go-home matchups across multiple networks and streaming platforms.
—Julianna Duennes Russ, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026
His return would yield middling results — the Dolphins went 5-4 but lost key matchups to the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans — before he once again was injured, this time with a hip.
—Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
Indiana and Oregon will meet in the College Football Playoff semifinals in one of the most significant QB matchups in years.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Virgil finished as the leading receiver in both BYU matchups.
—Ty Kaplan, Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
And that doesn't even include their matchups against nuisances like Iowa and Nebraska (and of course Michigan in the season finale).
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
Of the three potential playoff matchups Carolina could have gotten against NFC West teams, this one is the most winnable.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 10 Jan. 2026
After the wild-card round, the matchups are determined by the lowest remaining seeds traveling on the road to face the teams with a higher seed.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
From Saturday through Monday, playoff teams will face win-or-go-home matchups across multiple networks and streaming platforms.
—Julianna Duennes Russ, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026
His return would yield middling results — the Dolphins went 5-4 but lost key matchups to the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans — before he once again was injured, this time with a hip.
—Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
Indiana and Oregon will meet in the College Football Playoff semifinals in one of the most significant QB matchups in years.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Virgil finished as the leading receiver in both BYU matchups.
—Ty Kaplan, Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
And that doesn't even include their matchups against nuisances like Iowa and Nebraska (and of course Michigan in the season finale).
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for matchups
Noun
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His father, Chris, a longtime broadcaster for Swedish station SVT, has worked 20 of the tournaments.—
Joe Smith,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
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Before coming to Minnesota this year, the World Juniors title had been won by either Canada or the United States for the previous six tournaments.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Cardell Williams completed 8 of 11 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns to speedster Ernest Campbell as the Hornets won for the sixth time in their last eight outings with two conference games to go.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Meanwhile, up north, the 6-2 Seahawks are coming off an authoritative victory over the Washington Commanders last week and will try to extend their win streak to four games and hang onto their spot atop the division.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Find more university press titles featured on the University Press Week reading list, along with a schedule of University Press Week events.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The president has attended plenty of sporting events over the last 13 months.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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De Laurentiis took all the chaos in stride and was the expert judge for the cooking portion of the outrageous lineup of competitions.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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The Midwest's best winter fests include big-city ice-carving competitions as well as cozy small-town gatherings.—
Ginger Crichton,
Midwest Living,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The county has worked for months with UCSD and Scripps researchers to absorb the protocols created by local researchers, gradually fine-tuning models so that the data that the county’s process creates matches with what has already been collected and published by the research effort.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
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The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is playing host to nine World Cup matches between early June and mid-July.—
Josh Roberts,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Matchups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matchups. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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