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
Dallas Morning News, 14 Feb. 2026
Also Saturday, fourth-place Villarreal is playing at mid-table Getafe, and Sevilla faces Alaves in a duel between two strugglers.
—ABC News, 14 Feb. 2026
Jeran Wittenstein, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
The rivals also dueled in the 500, and de Boo finished second there too, behind Stolz, who also set an Olympic best-ever time in the 1,000.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for duel
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Noun
Edgecombe hit three 3-pointers during his scoring barrage in the first semifinal to win his duel with Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel, who scored just four points.
—Dallas Morning News, 14 Feb. 2026
Also Saturday, fourth-place Villarreal is playing at mid-table Getafe, and Sevilla faces Alaves in a duel between two strugglers.
—ABC News, 14 Feb. 2026
Verb
The dueling anxieties have been brewing for months.
—Jeran Wittenstein, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
The rivals also dueled in the 500, and de Boo finished second there too, behind Stolz, who also set an Olympic best-ever time in the 1,000.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 14 Feb. 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 16 Feb. 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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