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
Synonyms
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
Sam Lee, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
This is an exercise in grandstanding compared with the Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel, which ended in Hamilton’s death.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025
Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 8 Feb. 2025
The Super Bowl was a new invention at the time, a true crossover event between the dueling American Football League and National Football Leagues.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for duel 
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Noun
Per Opta, Gonzalez ranks first for Porto for possession regains (73), tackles (34) and aerial duels contested (68) this season.
—Sam Lee, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
This is an exercise in grandstanding compared with the Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel, which ended in Hamilton’s death.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025
Verb
Handler took aim at the dueling lawsuits from Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively during the show, joking that their high-profile spat had been just the distraction Californians needed after the wildfires.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 8 Feb. 2025
The Super Bowl was a new invention at the time, a true crossover event between the dueling American Football League and National Football Leagues.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for duel
Dictionary Entries Near duel
Cite this Entry
“Duel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duel. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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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