single combat

noun

: combat between two persons

Examples of single combat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Musk’s friendly peace terms are a far cry from his early inclinations when war broke out in Ukraine in February, offering to take on Putin in single combat and receiving gratitude from Ukrainian leadership after sending Starlink internet terminals from his company SpaceX to the country. Derek Saul, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022 Ergo, Peter must best the city’s fiercest warrior in single combat, fly and make a bereaved countess laugh for the first time since her brother died in battle. Michael Nordine, Variety, 15 Mar. 2023 IQAF Su-25s performed even more poorly in the same period, carrying out only a single combat strike. Paul Iddon, Forbes, 27 June 2022 The matter might have ended there, but John kept trying to convince Edward to fight him in single combat for the throne. Anne Thériault, Longreads, 21 June 2022 Moments later, Helen learned that Paris had agreed to fight her jilted husband, Menelaus, in single combat, to decide the outcome of the war. Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2022 In the past 18 months, the U.S. has not suffered a single combat casualty there. Mike Pence, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2021 Spread across an open field nearby, other players fought one another in single combat as part of a tournament. Rob Garver, Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2018 Though more willing to kill his master than the woman who previously trounced him in single combat, Kylo Ren remains as devoted to his political ideologies as Rey does to her entirely non-compatible ones. Ciara Wardlow, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of single combat was in 1585

Dictionary Entries Near single combat

Cite this Entry

“Single combat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single%20combat. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on single combat

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!