grudge match

noun

: a contest or fight between players, teams, etc., who dislike each other

The race had turned into a grudge match between the two teams.

Examples of grudge match in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That will be a grudge match to watch with a heap of bragging rights on the line. —The Enquirer, 21 Mar. 2024

And Michael must put aside his grudge match against narcissist teammate Leo (Simu Liu), whose social media following is the key to getting corporate endorsement. —Courtney Howard, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024

Cronin guided the Ducks through the prior meeting, which the Kings won, 5-2, and also marked the first 5 Freeway grudge match for Ducks rookies Leo Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov. —Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 24 Feb. 2024

This has left Zelensky and Ukraine in a potentially perilous position, caught in a political grudge match between Democrats and Republicans as a U.S. presidential election heats up. —Siobhán O'Grady, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2023

The Trojans were supposed to win games like this, a Pac-12 home showdown with the defending conference champs, a grudge match against a team that beat them twice last season, a monumental moment. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023

A little more than three minutes remained in Maryland’s grudge match with Northwestern on Oct. 22 when Delmar Glaze, Maryland’s redshirt junior offensive lineman, heard a gust of wind. —Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 2 Aug. 2023

In what is perhaps the definition of a literal grudge match, Twitter owner Elon Musk and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have indicated their interest in fighting each other. —Justin Klawans, The Week, 28 June 2023

Here’s your chance to make your grudge match really mean something. —David Meyer, Fortune, 22 June 2023