single combat

American  

noun

1. combat between two persons.

---

Etymology

Origin of single combat

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

Halfway through the movie, to ward off full-scale war with the Philistines, David volunteers to engage in single combat with the enemy’s champion: an oversize fellow named Goliath.

From The Wall Street Journal

Musk further instigated his fan base with another tweet that challenged Putin to a single combat duel.

From Salon

First, every single combat death in Iraq and Afghanistan has ripple effects here at home.

From Salon

Project Convergence reflects the need to rapidly merge a variety of assets — both in the air and on the ground — into a single combat element, the focus of the new training regime.

From Washington Times

Swordsfolk go toe-to-toe against one another in single combat, fighting for the honor of impressing the High King and his Court.

From Literature

Related Words

• bout
• shootout