(in Continental Europe) the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state.
a British nobleman holding the highest hereditary title outside the royal family, ranking immediately below a prince and above a marquis; a member of the highest rank of the British peerage.
a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.
a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.
Slang. dukes, fists; hands.
Put up your dukes.
Benjamin Newton, 1855–1929, and his brother, James Buchanan, 1856–1925, U.S. industrialists.
a male given name.
a nobleman of high rank: in the British Isles standing above the other grades of the nobility
the prince or ruler of a small principality or duchy
First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English duke, duc, late Old English duc, from Old French duc, dus, dux, from Medieval Latin dux “hereditary ruler of a small state,” Latin: “leader”; see dux; duke def. 5 dukes (in the sense “fists”) of unclear derivation and perhaps of distinct origin
A duke is a member of a royal or noble group. In some places, dukes rule over certain regions, while in others duke is just an honorary title. In the U.K., a duke inherits his title from his parents. Prince William, for example, is the Duke of Cambridge, while his father Prince Charles is the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay. The equivalent title for a woman is duchess. Informally, duke has a very different meaning in the U.S. — if you "duke it out," you have a fight, and to "put up your dukes" means to clench your fists and get ready to punch.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The man is Paul, who does not know how he has come to be in this world but finds himself hunted by a mad duke who wants his magical technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The duke chatted to some of the young patients on the wards and also some of their families.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Last year, the publisher of the Sun newspaper agreed to pay "substantial damages" and apologised to the duke to settle a long-running legal battle over claims of unlawful intrusion into his life.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Mexico and South Korea duke it out at 9.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
Grandpa had the manner of a king or duke: when he said do or don’t do something, you said yessir before you thought.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
The collaborative research team, led by scientists from Duke University School of Medicine, created a first-of-its-kind therapy designed to restore the normal length of the mRNA that produces SPSB1.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
“Not all platonic marriages work out,” says Duke Law Firm, which has offices in Rochester and Lakeville, N.Y.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
The Duke of Sussex was welcomed by enthusiastic supporters of his Invictus Games, as he arrived at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Gillison decided to attend Duke University partly to get away from Ohio winters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
On-screen, Duke chuckled the way all heroes chuckle as he plucked Rocko out of the river.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
The company raised its dividend in April, and some strategists see the potential for a special dividend on the horizon, as the Costco dukes it out with the government over tariffs.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Meanwhile, Abdulmejid and his family lived a glitzy Riviera life, attending dances, we are told, with “four or five kings and any number of princes, dukes and counts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
He said Myers illness was physically obvious but as soon as the cameras started rolling "he'd have his dukes up, ready for a scrap".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024
I don't know a single person who doesn't, and I will put up my dukes for Ava.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2023
Since his sons avoided the hardships of military service, they became private citizens after having been dukes.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
After losing to world champion Littler in last year's final, Humphries triumphed 11-8 in the repeat as the world's top two duked it out at O2 Arena.
From BBC ● May 29, 2025
As the insects groomed each other, the six types of fungi duked it out among themselves, with no clear winner taking over, the team reports this month in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
From Science Magazine ● Feb. 9, 2023
On Friday night, their boys — Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel and Thousand Oaks two-way senior Chase Martin — duked it out all night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2022
The two have duked it out for the top spot, trading places frequently through much of this year as both companies’ share prices rose.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2021
The mermaid leuch, her brief was gane, And kelpie's blast was blawin', Fu' low she duked, ne'er raise again, For deep, deep was the fawin'.
From The Book of Old English Ballads by Mabie, Hamilton Wright
Two months before nations begin duking it out in World Cup matches at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, a bitter clash has already broken out over how supporters will even travel there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
The primary bedroom also comes with a fireplace, as well as an expansive walk-in closet and a spa bathroom, perfect for relaxation after a long day of duking it out on air.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
This was far from just McIlroy and Fitzpatrick duking it out for the title though as the tension built on the back nine and at one point four players shared the lead.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2025
Others appear to participate in lekking behavior, in which two or more males will perform for a female — duking it out through courtship displays — to gain her favor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
For a moment, from his vantage point, it looked as if maybe his boys and the Brits were all alone out front, duking it out.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
