head-to-head

American  

[hed-tuh-hed] / ˈhɛd təˈhɛd /

adjective

1. in direct confrontation, opposition, or competition.

   a head-to-head battle between the two companies.

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head-to-head British  

adjective

1. in direct competition

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noun

1. a competition involving two people, teams, etc

Etymology

Origin of head-to-head

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

The firm’s goal was never to go head-to-head with Bloomberg, said Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Sinner, who had his Australian Open title defence ended by Djokovic in a thrilling five-set semi-final in January, also extends his head-to-head record against Medvedev, having won nine of their past 10 meetings.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

The critical conference game will decide the head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams that are separated by half a game in the standings.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Many are watching results in the single constituency of Jhapa-5, a usually sleepy eastern district, where two key prime ministerial hopefuls went head-to-head.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

They rounded up not just thousands but hundreds of thousands of consumers all across North America, and in head-to-head blind taste tests, New Coke beat Pepsi by 6 to 8 percentage points.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell