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

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

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

His decision to go toe-to-toe with Texas and leverage his position in the only state with more congressional seats than the Lone Star State has meant an introduction to Americans all over the country and a national spotlight on his ideas. —Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025

The old Yankee Stadium was a much more hostile battleground that could go toe-to-toe with Fenway. —Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025

Crochet and Marlins starter Janson Junk were outstanding, going toe-to-toe in one of the season’s best pitchers’ duels. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025

The city had just gone toe-to-toe with state lawmakers over Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance, which allowed transgender people to use public restrooms that aligned with their gender identity. —Charlotte Observer, 14 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above