single combat
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of single combat
First recorded in 1600–10
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.
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 ● Dec. 18, 2025
The single combat involves swinging a conker -- a hardened horse chestnut -- on a string at your opponent's nut with murderous venom, until one is smashed to pieces.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
Musk further instigated his fan base with another tweet that challenged Putin to a single combat duel.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2022
The Leopold was the first destroyer-escort lost in WWII, and it was the worst loss of life in a single combat action in Coast Guard history.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2020
The Spotted Cat proposed to challenge the enemy to send forth a champion to face him in single combat.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions 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.
