as in head-to-head
in direct confrontation or competition
the two brothers decided to go mano a mano in one final match to determine who was the better tennis player
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Recent Examples of mano a mano
There was no mano a mano moment between James and Bryant.
—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Zoë survived two blasts and one mano a mano confrontation with Beelzebub!
—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
Though neither is exactly a revelation — in the sense that these talents were revealed long ago — each gets space for menacing monologues and mano a mano match-ups.
—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
4 Dec. 2025
Surreal and dreamlike vignettes, and some laugh out loud moments of levity, break up mano a mano scenes in that hut that test the intensity of Bean and Day-Lewis.
—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mano a mano
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Zoë survived two blasts and one mano a mano confrontation with Beelzebub!
—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
Though neither is exactly a revelation — in the sense that these talents were revealed long ago — each gets space for menacing monologues and mano a mano match-ups.
—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
4 Dec. 2025
Surreal and dreamlike vignettes, and some laugh out loud moments of levity, break up mano a mano scenes in that hut that test the intensity of Bean and Day-Lewis.
—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mano a mano
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mano a mano
Adverb
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The head-to-head record heavily favors Portugal, who have 7 wins in 11 meetings.
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The most tantalizing head-to-head in this half of the draw is still the potential quarterfinal between Gauff and Jessica Pegula.
Adverb
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Revolut believes that coming into the office and having that face-to-face experience is critical to the development of its budding professionals.
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The movie was featured this past weekend at Prime Video’s all-day inaugural immersive event Obsessed Fest which brought fans face-to-face with the stars, creators and worlds behind the most buzzworthy YA, romance and book adaptation titles.
Adverb
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Volvo shared some new crash footage with Popular Science, showing how their design choices protect drivers even during head-on moose collisions.
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On a new episode of Call Her Daddy, Wilde digs in, addressing many of those controversies head-on while eliding others.
Cite this Entry
“Mano a mano.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mano%20a%20mano. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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