noun
duel
JOO-uhl
noun
1
A prearranged fight between two people, historically to settle a matter of honor.
"The two officers agreed to settle their dispute with a duel at dawn."
2
Any intense contest or struggle between two competing sides.
"The chess match turned into a duel of nerves in the final round."
"It became a duel between the two candidates for every undecided voter."
verb
1
To fight a duel, or to compete fiercely with someone.
"The two swordsmen dueled until one was disarmed."
How to Use Duel
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA formal one-on-one fight, or by extension any close head-to-head contest.
Common mistake
Don't confuse with "dual," meaning "having two parts" — they sound identical but are spelled differently and mean different things.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
fight a duel
duel to the death
a duel of wits
Word Forms
dueled past tense, duelled past tense, duels plural, duels singular
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The two officers agreed to settle their dispute with a _____ at dawn.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin duellum, "a fight between two men" — later linked (probably wrongly, by folk association) to duo, "two," which is why it now means a two-person contest.