toe-to-toe

adjective or adverb

ˈtō-ˌtə-ˈtō 

: slugging it out at or as if at close range

a toe-to-toe confrontation over the new policy

Synonyms

• eyeball-to-eyeball
• face-to-face
• head-on
• head-to-head
• mano a mano
• one-on-one

Examples of toe-to-toe in a Sentence

mom-and-pop grocery stores are usually wildly outmatched when they go toe-to-toe with large chain stores

Recent Examples on the Web

Quinlan will play Silver’s tough mother, and Hurd is set to play a veteran surgeon who goes toe-to-toe with Silver at work. —Matt Minton, Variety, 6 Feb. 2025

His walk-off 2-yard touchdown reception in the 2025 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., capped off the annual week of the nation’s top senior players going toe-to-toe in practices and scrimmages as one of the final opportunities to showcase their talents to NFL franchises before the draft in April. —Christopher Kamrani, The Athletic, 2 Feb. 2025

Can Mahomes still go toe-to-toe with another star quarterback? —Andrew Greif, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2025

San Diego State’s Skylar Spencer — 13 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks — played toe-to-toe with future NBA MVP Joel Embiid (12-12-5). —Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above