toe to toe

1 of 2

phrase

: facing one another

toe-to-toe

2 of 2

adjective or adverb

ˈtō-ˌtə-ˈtō 

: slugging it out at or as if at close range

a toe-to-toe confrontation over the new policy

Synonyms of toe to toe

Adjective or adverb

• head-to-head
• one-on-one
• head-on
• face-to-face
• eyeball-to-eyeball

Examples of toe to toe in a Sentence

Adjective or adverb

mom-and-pop grocery stores are usually wildly outmatched when they go toe-to-toe with large chain stores

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective or adverb

Tasked with going toe-to-toe with a two-time Cy Young winner, Cam Schlittler came out on top in Texas on Tuesday. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026

Last year Payton Tolle’s big league debut was one of the highlights of the season, as the gigantic left-hander with a mustache as big as his personality went toe-to-toe with Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes and struck out eight in a memorable Friday night showdown. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026

Charming vintage footage shows how the two could go toe-to-toe with one another, even while on other sides of a dueling piano. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 23 Apr. 2026

Even as recently as his last matchup, Swanson went toe-to-toe with Billy Quarantillo for two rounds before knocking him out in the third. —Brett Appley, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for toe to toe

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau