(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.
Hillyer, a historian at Lewis & Clark, has been teaching it since 2012 and wrote about the experience in the 2024 book A Wall Is Just a Wall, published by Duke University Press.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
The Duke researchers focused on satellite glial cells, which surround and support sensory neurons.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
Rumors of elaborate parties at Louis XIV’s Versailles preceded the arrival of Louis, the Duke of Aumont, as French ambassador around 1713.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Rent will open at London's Duke of York Thatre on 26 September 2026.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Fred’s favorite episode was the one where Duke, Nala, and Scruffy had to ski off a cliff in Switzerland to chase down the villain, who had stolen a top-secret chocolate formula.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
