duel

1 of 2

noun

du·​el ˈdü-əl How to pronounce duel (audio)
also ˈdyü-
Synonyms of duel
1
: a combat between two persons
specifically : a formal combat with weapons fought between two persons in the presence of witnesses
2
: a conflict between antagonistic persons, ideas, or forces
also : a hard-fought contest between two opponents

duel

2 of 2

verb

dueled or duelled; dueling or duelling

intransitive verb

: to fight a duel

transitive verb

: to encounter (an opponent) in a duel
dueler noun
or dueller
duelist noun
or duellist
ˈd(y)ü-ə-list How to pronounce duel (audio)

Synonyms of duel

Relevance

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of duel in a Sentence

Noun They engaged in a duel of wits. a duel for the title of captain of the team Verb He accepted the challenge to duel. Legislators dueled over the tax increases. The two runners dueled for the lead.
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
The potential scenario of a Le Pen-Mélenchon second-round duel that polls suggest could end with a Le Pen victory could ultimately prompt some candidates to drop out, to concentrate votes behind mainstream alternatives. — ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026 If both top closers have to do more or less the same thing, namely, stay in contention, arguably what has to happen here for either to hit the wire first, then the next question is, who wins in a stretch duel. — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Verb
The venue occupies the former Jellyrolls dueling piano bar space. — Megan Dubois, Southern Living, 2 Sep. 2026 Witnesses had testified to the heated gang rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru, which were associated with dueling record companies Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records. — Jonathan Landrum Jr, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for duel

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Medieval Latin duellum, from Old Latin, war

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1645, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of duel was in the 15th century

Rhymes for duel

See All Rhymes for duel

Browse Nearby Words

dueful
duel
dueling pistol
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Duel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duel. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

duel

1 of 2 noun
du·​el ˈd(y)ü-əl How to pronounce duel (audio)
1
: a combat between two persons
especially : one fought with weapons in the presence of witnesses
2
: a conflict between two opponents

duel

2 of 2 verb
dueled or duelled; dueling or duelling
: to fight in a duel
dueler noun
or dueller
duelist noun
or duellist
ˈd(y)ü-ə-ləst How to pronounce duel (audio)
Etymology

Noun

from Latin duellum "duel," from an archaic form of earlier bellum "war"; revived in the Middle Ages to mean combat between two persons because the du- suggested Latin duo "two"

More from Merriam-Webster on duel

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about duel

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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