DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

duel

[ doo-uh l, dyoo- ]
/ ˈdu əl, ˈdyu- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR duel ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Content related to duel

How Do I Write … To Kill Off A Character?If you're a fiction writer, you know this feeling well: you're toiling away at your story, charting out your plot and reaching pivotal points that will no doubt choke up your readers, when you come to the realization that it's time for one of your characters to sing their swan song. But how are you going to kill them off?
READ MORE
Taser: A Surprising Acronym With An Unsettling StoryThe (debatable) non-lethal weapon that causes temporary paralysis was invented in the 1970s by a man named Jack Cover (who worked for NASA at one point).
READ MORE

Words related to duel

withstand, confront, resist, rebuff, prevent, refuse, thwart, continue, combat, repel, defy, abide, forgo, maintain, curb, endure, thrust, cross, cope, tolerate

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for duelling

British Dictionary definitions for duelling

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