duke
noun
(in Continental Europe) the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state.
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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.
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a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.
-
a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.
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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:
They were allowed to keep their duke and duchess of Sussex titles, but lost other monarchy privileges.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
“The Gilded Age” pulls inspiration from New York City’s 19th century elite, with Gladys Russell’s reluctant betrothal to an English duke nodding to socialite Consuelo Vanderbilt’s lavish nuptials a decade later.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The man is Paul, who does not know how he has come to be in this world but finds himself hunted by a mad duke who wants his magical technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Last year, the publisher of the Sun newspaper agreed to pay "substantial damages" and apologised to the duke to settle a long-running legal battle over claims of unlawful intrusion into his life.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
The likes of the people here, they're bound to take you for at least a lord or a duke.'
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
He completed his bachelor’s at Duke University, where he studied English and political science and won the university's Patterson Prize for journalism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
This comes after the "bombshell announcement" that Meghan and the Duke of Sussex are returning to the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
By early 2020, Harry and Meghan -- formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- had had enough.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Prince of Wales will prioritise his public work in the coming months and try not to get drawn into the drama around the UK return of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Why is Duke peeing in the middle of the scene?”
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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
He said Myers illness was physically obvious but as soon as the cameras started rolling "he'd have his dukes up, ready for a scrap".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024
The quality time leads to a beautifully still scene where deep in the dunes, Chani tells Paul, “Your blood comes from dukes and great houses. Here, everyone is equal.”
From Salon ● Mar. 9, 2024
If this ex- panded idea of freedom spread, how safe were the kings and dukes, earls and knights, of England?
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
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
The target audience for Coachella, the die-hard music fans who once duked it out for tickets, may have also changed their concert-going preferences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 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 two have duked it out for the top spot, trading places frequently through much of this year as both companies’ share prices rose.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2021
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 the two airlines are currently duking it out for supremacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 28, 2026
“Nickel Boys” “At this stage, two Cannes prizewinners are duking it out for the top spot: Sean Baker’s box-office hit ‘Anora’ and Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Pérez.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
Rather than the long slog of duking it out at a disadvantage to other departments during a national police shortage, Seattle could immediately reduce officer workload and shift time to proactive policing.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
Cal and Navy were duking it out for the lead.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
