as in face-to-face
in direct confrontation or competition
bragged that no one could go one-on-one with her in a game of darts and win
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for one-on-one
Adverb
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As for harmony between Charles and Harry, the last time the two are known to have seen one another face-to-face was last September, when Harry stopped by Charles’s London home, Clarence House, for a tea that lasted just under an hour.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
29 Jan. 2026 -
The company found that its community was seeking guidance on how to take steps towards face-to-face connections—guidance Brooks is equipped to help provide.—
Rachel Burchfield,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Teams of friends and families will go head-to-head in a test of boat building in the great outdoors during an annual Central Florida event.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Jan. 2026
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The race for another Board of Review seat will be a head-to-head match rather than uncontested after county officials ruled incumbent Commissioner George Cardenas was safe on the ballot.—
A.D. Quig,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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But when protons raced both ways around the tunnel and crashed head-on, spraying debris into surrounding detectors, only the 25 particles of the Standard Model were observed.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
26 Jan. 2026
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For many in public health, this moment felt like the final straw, proof that the Make America Healthy Again movement is dangerous, unserious, and must be fought head-on or ignored altogether.—
Tom W. Johnson,
STAT,
26 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“One-on-one.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/one-on-one. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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