duke
noun
(in Continental Europe) the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state.
duke
1 American
[dook, dyook]
/ duk, djuk /
noun
-
dukes
plural
-
(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.
verb (used with object)
duked,
duking
idioms
Duke
2
American
[dook, dyook]
/ duk, djuk /
noun
-
Benjamin Newton, 1855–1929, and his brother, James Buchanan, 1856–1925, U.S. industrialists.
-
a male given name.
duke
British
/ djuːk /
noun
-
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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of duke
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
Explanation
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.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Is the Duke de Rohan’s niece murderously insane, as he claims, or is the duke himself deluded?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Awards season is around the corner, with opponents ready to duke it out in the ring of swanky luncheons and Hollywood hobnobbing.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Byfield had originally obtained the post after selling a copy of his military memoir to the duke while employed as a tollkeeper.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Last month, the duke and six other public figures lost their High Court privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The duke summons him to ask what’s taking so long.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Ellen Meade is research professor of economics at Duke University and a member of the Dallas Fed’s Academic Advisory Council.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
“There’s this perception that college students don’t want to pursue God, and that is the farthest thing from the truth,” said Ella Wang, a Duke University sophomore who attended a recent visit by the Knechtles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The Duke of Sussex has said he "slipped into depression for about two weeks" after relocating to Canada in 2019 ahead of his move to the US.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
In the years since, Duke and his colleagues have expanded on the initial scope of his dissertation to compile more evidence from a larger collection of samples.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Duke rose up off his poolside lounger and stood on his wobbly legs.
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
The quality time leads to a beautifully still scene where deep in the dunes, Chani tells Paul, “Your blood comes from dukes and great houses. Here, everyone is equal.”
From Salon ● Mar. 9, 2024
She told him that in the Renaissance the most famous dukes were known for their aesthetic taste and patronage of the arts, and this idea appealed to him.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
So for nearly 170 miles, the greatest cyclists from the sport’s heartlands duked it out around the roads of Quebec.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
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
The Lions’ Jared Goff and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, both facing their former teams, duked it out before Detroit emerged with a 24-23 NFC wild-card win.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2024
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
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 Hamilton Wright Mabie
Musk has a history of duking it out with executives, like with JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon before the pair patched things up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 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
Rather than the long slog of duking it out at a disadvantage to other departments during a national police shortage, Seattle could immediately reduce officer workload and shift time to proactive policing.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
Kevin Magnussen and Lewis Hamilton are duking it out for that final point place.
From BBC ● May 3, 2024
Cal and Navy were duking it out for the lead.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
