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
dueled or duelled; dueling or duelling
: to fight a duel
: to encounter (an opponent) in a duel
dueler
noun
or dueller
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
James Pearce, New York Times, 28 May 2026
LaBonta completed 23 of 29 passes from the middle of the park, put in four tackles, made two interceptions and two ball recoveries, and won five of her eight duels with players, all while avoiding committing a single foul.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 May 2026
There were dueling chants for Mox and O’Reilly.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for duel
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Noun
So many duels were lost with Alexis Mac Allister, a model of consistency during the title-winning campaign, a glaring weak link in midfield.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 28 May 2026
LaBonta completed 23 of 29 passes from the middle of the park, put in four tackles, made two interceptions and two ball recoveries, and won five of her eight duels with players, all while avoiding committing a single foul.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
Verb
Michael Wacha duels with Bronx Bombers Few lineups across Major League Baseball are constructed quite like the Yankees’.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 May 2026
There were dueling chants for Mox and O’Reilly.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for duel
Cite this Entry
“Duel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duel. Accessed 28 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
duel
1 of 2 noun
du·el
ˈd(y)ü-əl 
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
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"
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