toe-to-toe

adjective or adverb

: slugging it out at or as if at close range
a toe-to-toe confrontation over the new policy

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
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.
Now, fans will get a chance to see Reese go toe-to-toe with the other WNBA and basketball elite when the Unrivaled season kicks off in January 2025. Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024 Who are the rising Democratic stars set to go toe-to-toe with their Republican colleagues and the Trump administration – at least until the 2026 midterms and the start of the 2028 presidential campaign? Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024 Not only that, but his team stood toe-to-toe with Mahomes and the unbeaten Chiefs on the road and never blinked. Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 10 Nov. 2024 For weeks, lawyers for the Republican and Democratic parties have gone toe-to-toe in courtrooms on challenges to voter rolls, mail ballots and other election procedures. Ella Lee, The Hill, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for toe-to-toe 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of toe-to-toe was circa 1942

Dictionary Entries Near toe-to-toe

Cite this Entry

“Toe-to-toe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toe-to-toe. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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