duel
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a formal fight between two people using weapons like swords or pistols, usually to settle an argument about honour.
n.a prearranged combat between two individuals, typically conducted with lethal weapons according to a formal code of honour.
Simple“In the old story, the two men fought a duel at dawn to defend their family names.”
In context“The aristocrat challenged his rival to a duel after a public insult, though such combat was already strictly forbidden by royal decree.”
UsageOften used with the verbs 'fight' or 'challenge someone to'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.any competition or struggle between two people, teams, or ideas.
n.a contest or struggle between two opposing parties, forces, or entities.
Simple“The tennis match became a tense duel between the two best players in the world.”
In context“The election evolved into a bitter ideological duel between the conservative incumbent and the progressive challenger.”
Teacher's tipThis is the most common modern use, often found in sports or political journalism.
Antonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
v.to take part in a formal fight or a tough competition against one other person.
v.to engage in a duel or a competitive struggle against a single opponent.
Simple“The two master chefs will duel in the kitchen to see who makes the best dish.”
In context“The two lawyers continued to duel over the interpretation of the contract for several hours, neither willing to concede a single point.”
From Medieval Latin duellum (“fight between two men, duel”), itself from Old Latin duellum (“war, fight”), which survived in Classical Latin as a rare byform of bellum and was later reinterpreted as “duel” by unetymological association with duo (“two”). May have entered English through Middle French duel.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.