duel

1 of 2

noun

du·​el ˈdü-əl How to pronounce duel (audio)
 also  ˈdyü-
Synonyms of duelnext
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

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
Noun
This date, July 11, is also notable for it was 220 years today, in 1804, when occurred the Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel in Weehawken, where the sitting vice president of the United States (Burr) shot and killed the former treasury secretary (Hamilton). —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 11 July 2024 The impressive choreography of the lightsaber duel also allowed Jacinto to flex those arms...a lot. —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 3 July 2024
Verb
Trump refused to participate and, instead, Trump and Biden held dueling town hall-style meetings. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 26 June 2024 There will be no live audience at the CNN debate, instead Donald Trump and Joe Biden will duel it out with CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderating in the network's Atlanta studio. —Sarah Gleason, USA TODAY, 25 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for duel 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'duel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near duel

dueful

duel

dueling pistol

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Duel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duel. Accessed 14 Jul. 2024.

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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

Nglish: Translation of duel for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of duel for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about duel

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