duke it out

verb

To fight, especially with the fists.

“A large crowd came to watch the boxers duke it out.”

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Meanings

verbduke it out (third-person singular simple present dukes it out, present participle duking it out, simple past and past participle duked it out)

present singular third person dukes it out · participle present duking it out · participle past duked it out · past duked it out

  1. informalTo fight, especially with the fists.

    A large crowd came to watch the boxers duke it out.

  2. informalTo argue heavily or at length.

    The candidates duked it out on the proposal for hours.

    2 more examples

    Like pharmaceutical companies that sue generic drug makers over their patents or technology companies that duke it out over who owns the right to microchip designs, Levi’s says it is trying to protect its most valuable asset, its trademarks.

    2007 January 29, Michael Barbaro, Julie Creswell, “Levi’s Turns to Suing Its Rivals”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

    Twitter and Mr. Musk have assembled legal teams to duke it out.

    2022 July 12, Kate Conger, Lauren Hirsch, “Twitter Sues Musk After He Tries Backing Out of $44 Billion Deal”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
come to blowsfistfight

Origin

See put up one's dukes.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

duke it out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duke%20it%20out

MLA

“duke it out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duke%20it%20out. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “duke it out,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duke%20it%20out.

Source: duke it out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.