as in toe-to-toe
in direct confrontation or competition
it's fitting that the two best teams during the regular season will go head-to-head for the championship
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Recent Examples of head-to-head
The study didn’t compare gadusol head-to-head with currently available sunscreens, or assess its long-term safety or large-scale manufacturing.
—
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 May 2026
Announced this week at the NBCUniversal Upfronts, the 10-part series will see bartenders go head-to-head in a high-stakes cocktail competition, where creativity, precision and taste will determine who takes home a $10,000 prize each week.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026
Now, that style of play comes to life as the most obsessed and competitive players will team up in squads and go head-to-head in the Wordle arena, playing for an incredible cash prize, per the logline.
—Peter White, Deadline, 11 May 2026
Misiorowski won head-to-head matchups with 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw as a rookie.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for head-to-head
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 May 2026
Announced this week at the NBCUniversal Upfronts, the 10-part series will see bartenders go head-to-head in a high-stakes cocktail competition, where creativity, precision and taste will determine who takes home a $10,000 prize each week.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026
Now, that style of play comes to life as the most obsessed and competitive players will team up in squads and go head-to-head in the Wordle arena, playing for an incredible cash prize, per the logline.
—Peter White, Deadline, 11 May 2026
Misiorowski won head-to-head matchups with 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw as a rookie.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for head-to-head
Recent Examples of Synonyms for head-to-head
Adverb
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But with Niño based in Santa Monica and Timothy operating between Sierra Leone and London, face-to-face collaboration was never in the cards—that is, until one especially soggy London afternoon last November, when Niño took advantage of a day off tour and made his way to Timothy’s studio.—
Hattie Lindert,
Pitchfork,
22 May 2026
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Rejections don’t exist in vacuums; the devastating, face-to-face playground rejection of a little Black child by a white child in 1961 New Orleans was taught by adults.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
Adverb
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Perkins, who is CEO of Canva, addressed head-on the concerns among many who work in creative industries about the potential for AI to supplant human labor.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
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Figures of Crisis makes productive use of this commonplace idea by tackling it head-on and turning it inside out.—
Ara H. Merjian,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Head-to-head.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/head-to-head. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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