Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

duke

1

[ dook, dyook ]

noun

  1. (in Continental Europe) the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state.
  2. a British nobleman holding the highest hereditary title outside the royal family, ranking immediately below a prince and above a marquis; a member of the highest rank of the British peerage.
  3. a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.
  4. a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.
  5. dukes, Slang. fists; hands:

    Put up your dukes.



verb (used with object)

duked, duking.
  1. Slang. to hit or thrash with the fists (sometimes followed by out ): The bully said he was going to duke out anyone who disagreed.

    He duked me because he said I had insulted him.

    The bully said he was going to duke out anyone who disagreed.

Duke

2

[ dook, dyook ]

noun

  1. Benjamin Newton, 1855–1929, and his brother, James Buchanan, 1856–1925, U.S. industrialists.
  2. a male given name.

duke

/ ː /

noun

  1. a nobleman of high rank: in the British Isles standing above the other grades of the nobility
  2. the prince or ruler of a small principality or duchy
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of duke1

First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English duke, duc, late Old English duc, from Old French duc, dus, dux, from Medieval Latin dux “hereditary ruler of a small state,” Latin: “l𲹻”; dux; duke def 5 dukes (in the sense “fists”) of unclear derivation and perhaps of distinct origin
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of duke1

C12: from Old French duc, from Latin dux leader
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. duke it out, to fight, especially with the fists; do battle:

    The adversaries were prepared to duke it out in the alley.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"Instead of outguessing the market, let me make all these thousands or millions of people who are investing work for me. I’m just going to sit back and let them duke it out," Booth says.

From

The French ended up occupying Mexico for several years, briefly installing Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, an Austrian duke, as emperor.

From

Cartwright and Taylor kick the show’s second season off with a bang as they duke it out in a battle of dim wits.

From

"Some unhinged lunatic, a man, wearing daisy dukes, at a makeup store, got in my face today. Dems are nuts. So I went off - and I won’t be backing down," she captioned the post.

From

Sitting in the same seat as he did on Tuesday, next to his solicitor, the duke occasionally made notes as he listened to Sir James set out the government's position.

From

Advertisement

Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Dukasdukedom