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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Recent Examples of face-off
Manasi Pathak, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
So, yes, in a face-off, the Golf GTI wins.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
Lewis Tan led the 2021 film as Cole Young, an MMA fighter facing off against Outworld enemies in a high-stakes battle for the universe.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Noun
But before his last-four clash with the Serb on Saturday, Alcaraz will swing more than his tennis racquet, facing compatriot and 2017 Masters champion, Sergio Garcia, in a golf face-off.
—Manasi Pathak, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
So, yes, in a face-off, the Golf GTI wins.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
Daredevil, aka the blind lawyer Matt Murdock, faced off against Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin, who ascended to mayor of New York City.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
Lewis Tan led the 2021 film as Cole Young, an MMA fighter facing off against Outworld enemies in a high-stakes battle for the universe.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for face-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-off
Noun
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There is also a danger that anger with Hamas and rivalries within the Palestinian community in Gaza could now explode, analysts say.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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The men’s opposing theories, murder versus suicide, became entangled in a rivalry over who had known and understood him best.—
Eren Orbey,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Nuts for nostalgia KFC is far from the only chain banking on nostalgia these days as competing restaurants fight for consumer attention.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
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So far, the brand has focused on fully electric models, with its most recent release being the T1 hatchback, which competes with the BYD Dolphin and Geely Xingyuan.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Keeping track of what both Pokémon are doing, each of their health bars, the animations for each attack and the battle log (which shows whether or not attacks have landed) takes a long time to get used to.—
Ryan Gaur,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
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With tensions rising, the film transforms into an unsettling black comedy as the colleagues descend into a battle of wills and wits.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For the last several years, award-winning filmmaker Richard Ladkani has been at work on a pair of films, among them the current Oscar-contending Yanuni, about a woman Indigenous leader who is fighting to save the Brazilian Amazon at great personal risk.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
13 Oct. 2025
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Defensively, the Bills are not good enough to truly contend for a Super Bowl — at least not yet.—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Game 4 was high-intensity from the jump with Cristopher Sanchez and Tyler Glasnow going head-to-head in a pitchers' duel.—
Valentina Martinez,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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The hope is more of a fiery attitude could lead to more duels won.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The timing of the deal comes as Big Tech firms race to secure scarce land, power, and compute capacity—the foundational resources underpinning the AI race.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
15 Oct. 2025
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My heart was racing, but not with excitement.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Once on campus, he’s drawn into the intense world of Black Greek life, where rival fraternities battle through stepping competitions that blend rhythm, tradition, and pride.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
16 Oct. 2025
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Of their 16 meetings in all competitions between August 2004 and August 2007, 10 featured one goal or fewer.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Call it a conversation, not a confrontation.—
Dianna Russini,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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The uptick in confrontations comes as the administration increases its efforts to deport millions of undocumented migrants, an approach critics say has led to aggressive enforcement tactics, due process violations and the mistreatment of migrants.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Face-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-off. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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