duke
noun
(in Continental Europe) the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state.
Showing results for duke.
Search instead for
duking.
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:
In a judgment on Friday, Justice Adam Johnson agreed, allowing Turk to rely on a witness summary and seek to call evidence from the former duke.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
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
“You gave it to me!” she said to the duke.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pictured as they "move into new Cotswolds home", the paper says.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
This season, No. 1 Miami features the country’s most accurate passer—a transfer from Duke.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Nate Sheppard ran for three of his school-record five touchdowns in the first half as Duke rolled past Boston College 47-2 on Saturday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Duke, the tobacco magnate who started Charlotte, N.C., power producer Duke Energy, recognized the hydroelectric potential of Saguenay early in the 20th century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Duke and Nala bolt out of the bushes where they've been hiding.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
And, after playing all those Shakespearean princes and dukes on the London stage, Stewart became fiercely proud of him, and of the show's ability to connect with younger audiences.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
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
I don't know a single person who doesn't, and I will put up my dukes for Ava.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2023
He gave me a look like he was going to drop both cartons and put up his dukes.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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
For more than a decade, about 10 individuals and a handful of corporations have duked it out in California Superior Court trying to prove they are the rightful owners of the stone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 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
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
The Federal Aviation Administration is looking to cut flights this summer at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where United Airlines and American Airlines are currently duking it out for supremacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
"There is still a transfer fee for anyone who wants to negotiate and we are duking it out with the big boys in France like La Rochelle," said Sanderson.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who has his own AI startup, is duking it out in court and in a public war of words with Sam Altman, leader of ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025
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
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
