How to Use toe-to-toe in a Sentence

toe-to-toe

adjective or adverb
  • This isn’t the first time that Temu and Shein have gone toe-to-toe in court.
    — Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2023
  • But that wing isn’t strong enough to go toe-to-toe against Trump.
    — Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 29 Nov. 2023
  • And the action in the final half hour, when Graf goes for broke, can go toe-to-toe with the best.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2024
  • The two have gone toe-to-toe at the state meet each of the past three years, with Willis winning once and Rathke twice.
    — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 15 May 2024
  • This girl called her a hack and spoke truth to her and went toe-to-toe with her and was funny.
    — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
  • The everyman who stood toe-to-toe with one of the best players in the world and dropped an ace right in front of him.
    — Gerrit Ritt, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
  • Meanwhile, Bob and Linda go toe-to-toe with a wine snob (Matt Walsh).
    — Lillian Brown, Vulture, 17 May 2024
  • Too brash to believe that the top three in the rotation can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the show?
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Doing so, and going toe-to-toe with the status quo, is risky.
    — Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Its action scenes could go toe-to-toe with those of, say, a Jason Bourne movie.
    — WIRED, 24 Mar. 2023
  • This would not be the first time the Red Sox and Yankees went toe-to-toe for a free agent this offseason.
    — Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Derwin is certainly one of the few guys that has gone toe-to-toe and can meet that matchup.
    — Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
  • There are few actors who can go toe-to-toe with Jack Nicholson.
    — Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024
  • And that’s a big miss for a star who should be going toe-to-toe with top stars like Cena, Reigns, etc.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025
  • James, seeded 12th in the field, went toe-to-toe with Kingsland, going 1-up on the seventh hole.
    — From Staff Reports, Hartford Courant, 17 Aug. 2023
  • Tonight was the quarter-finals, and, as usual, the two celebrities with the least amount of votes went toe-to-toe in a smackdown.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 9 May 2024
  • Expect goals, drama, and two teams going toe-to-toe in both legs.
    — James McNicholas, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
  • The Rockies went toe-to-toe with them, but, per usual, the Rockies ended up on the canvas.
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 7 May 2025
  • Two people stand toe-to-toe and pummel each other bloody.
    — Stayton Bonner, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 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 the second time in less than a week, the Hartford Yard Goats went toe-to-toe with one of the best pitchers in major league baseball.
    — Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 9 June 2024
  • Sutor was impressed with how Moline went toe-to-toe with Ritchie.
    — Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 5 May 2025
  • The formidable characters have faced off toe-to-toe in the past.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 25 Nov. 2024
  • Keys stood toe-to-toe with Sabalenka on Rod Laver Arena.
    — Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Game 4 will be remembered for its violence, and in the end, there isn’t a team in the NHL that is going to go toe-to-toe with the champs when the gloves come off.
    — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • Kim Kardashian will go toe-to-toe with a pair of Hollywood greats.
    — Keisha Hatchett, TVLine, 8 July 2024
  • Each is an athlete, painstakingly trained over decades to go toe-to-toe with Europe’s finest.
    — Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Fritz tried to go toe-to-toe with Sinner from the baseline but couldn’t quite hang with his concussive power.
    — Adam Zagoria, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
  • Custom toe-to-toe beds were built along the length of a wall, maximizing utility and adding charm.
    — Jessica Cherner, House Beautiful, 10 May 2023
  • That right there would probably be enough for a lifetime’s worth of Flex bombs, but, then, in the mid-2000s, Styles went on a run of freestyles and mixtapes that can go toe-to-toe with the best of that moment.
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 16 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'toe-to-toe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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