as in rivalry
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
the annual fall face-off between these traditional rivals is a big event for both football-mad colleges
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of face-off
Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Jan. 2025
With the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs slated for this weekend, both of the future Hall-of-Famers’ Super Bowl predictions are still in tact, as Brees and Gronkowski expect the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills to face-off in New Orleans next month.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 17 Jan. 2025
Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 13 Feb. 2025
Morehouse College will face off against Tuskegee University at 2pm in Oakland Arena.
—Shawna Chen, Axios, 13 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for face-off 
Noun
California and Trump have had a bumpy relationship and the birthright citizenship lawsuit is likely to be the first of many federal court face-offs between the two adversaries.
—Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Jan. 2025
With the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs slated for this weekend, both of the future Hall-of-Famers’ Super Bowl predictions are still in tact, as Brees and Gronkowski expect the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills to face-off in New Orleans next month.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
One of the toughest sequences came in season 2, when the majority of the young cast faced off in a huge fight in the halls of the characters' high school.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 13 Feb. 2025
Morehouse College will face off against Tuskegee University at 2pm in Oakland Arena.
—Shawna Chen, Axios, 13 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for face-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-off
Noun
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Now, two years later, James was glad to be at the bar with his dad, despite the rivalry.—
Marcus D. Smith,
Sacramento Bee,
10 Feb. 2025
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In the midst of this, Larson also has a healthy rivalry brewing with Christopher Bell, as both frequently find themselves in exciting finishes on dirt tracks and other formats.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
9 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Related article World Athletics’ policy limiting trans women participation is ‘here to stay,’ says president Sebastian Coe Unable to compete in female world rankings competitions due to the current rules from the sport’s governing body, Telfer’s dreams of becoming an Olympian are currently on hold.—
Amanda Davies, Aleks Klosok and George Ramsay,
CNN,
18 Feb. 2025
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This matchup is part of the 2025 Oman Tri-Nation Series, which has these two nations and Namibia competing.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The podcast's release comes amid Baldoni's ongoing legal battle with Lively.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
People.com,
11 Feb. 2025
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O'Toole is overseeing the legal battle over Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programs.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2025
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Trump contends his proxies must be allowed to hunt for waste, fraud and abuse within the executive branch.—
Bart Jansen,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Per Opta, Gonzalez ranks first for Porto for possession regains (73), tackles (34) and aerial duels contested (68) this season.—
Sam Lee,
The Athletic,
5 Feb. 2025
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This is an exercise in grandstanding compared with the Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel, which ended in Hamilton’s death.—
Stephen Humphries,
The Christian Science Monitor,
30 Jan. 2025
Verb
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William Byron raced to his second straight Daytona 500 win, dodging a string of late-race wrecks that knocked out a chunk of contenders and sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver into victory lane Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway.—
Dan Gelston,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2025
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Mayor, 3 council seats open:Local Surprise City Hall races to watch in 2024 Speaking to the ongoing population and business growth in Surprise, Sada said there were multiple factors attributing to it.—
Shawn Raymundo,
The Arizona Republic,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The following month, Payne flew to Manchester, England, and served as a guest judge on the Netflix reality-TV music competition Building the Band.—
Federico Fahsbender,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2025
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Trade wasn't really about cutthroat price competition.—
Greg Rosalsky,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Her fights are not just physical confrontations but manifestations of the battles within her.—
Kevin Cassidy,
The Hollywood Reporter,
16 Feb. 2025
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The gunman later died after a confrontation and shootout with police.—
David Sharos,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near face-off
Cite this Entry
“Face-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-off. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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