duel

[ doo-uh l, dyoo- ]

/ ˈdu əl, ˈdyu- /

noun

a prearranged combat between two persons, fought with deadly weapons according to an accepted code of procedure, especially to settle a private quarrel.

any contest between two persons or parties.

verb (used with or without object), du·eled, du·el·ing or (especially British) du·elled, du·el·ling.

to fight in a duel.

Words nearby duel

due bill, due diligence, due process of law, due to, duecento, duel, duelist, duello, duende, duenna, duero

Origin of duel

1585–95; earlier duell < Medieval Latin duellum, Latin: earlier form of bellum war, probably maintained and given sense “duel” by association with Latin duo two

OTHER WORDS FROM duel

du·el·is·tic; especially British, du·el·lis·tic, adjectiveout·du·el, verb (used with object), out·du·eled, out·du·el·ing or (especially British) out·du·elled, out·du·el·ling.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH duel

dual duel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for duel

It was a duel on a larger scale, with all the uncertainty and danger that implied.
How Clausewitz Invented Modern War|James A. Warren|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That, then, makes this, for the third year running, duel between Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Amy Poehler.
What's TV's Funniest Show? Our Emmy Awards Comedy Predictions|Kevin Fallon|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Drake has been following the case on behalf of Fahmy, who is duel Canadian-Egyptian national.
Egyptian Court Hands Down Stiff Sentences for Al-Jazeera Journalists|Jesse Rosenfeld|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was less of a duel and more of a WWE-styled battle royale.
Plotting Nicea III Could Be Pope Francis's Masterstroke|Candida Moss|June 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The protagonists Bernier and Gautier have a duel that again occupies an adrenaline-defying amount of time.
The ‘GOT’ Red Viper and Mountain Duel, and a History of Medieval Trial by Combat|Steven Isaac|June 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He remonstrated with Adele, no use; he offered to fight a duel with the perfidious Kestrike, no use; the thief was a coward.'
Madame Midas|Fergus Hume
I'll have my young lady out to stop the duel, and, God's love, she'll come alone.
The Trail of the Sword, Complete|Gilbert Parker
Fancy that he fired in the air, and you've fought a duel, Giles.'
Oliver Twist, Illustrated|Charles Dickens
A duel with Judge Caldwell was the consequence, in which both fell.
The Memories of Fifty Years|William H. Sparks
At the age of seventeen he was wounded in a duel and sent to Paris.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for duel

duel

/ (ˈdjuːəl) /

noun

a prearranged combat with deadly weapons between two people following a formal procedure in the presence of seconds and traditionally fought until one party was wounded or killed, usually to settle a quarrel involving a point of honour

a contest or conflict between two persons or parties

verb duels, duelling or duelled or US duels, dueling or dueled (intr)

to fight in a duel

to contest closely

Derived forms of duel

dueller or duellist, noun

Word Origin for duel

C15: from Medieval Latin duellum, from Latin, poetical variant of bellum war; associated by folk etymology with Latin duo two

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012