How to Use toe-to-toe in a Sentence

toe-to-toe

adjective or adverb
  • Trump has gone toe-to-toe with ABC for years.
    — Laura Kelly, The Hill, 18 Nov. 2025
  • 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
  • This isn’t the first time that Temu and Shein have gone toe-to-toe in court.
    — Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Expect goals, drama, and two teams going toe-to-toe in both legs.
    — James McNicholas, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
  • 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
  • The real thrill for me is that not a lot of people get to go toe-to-toe with Jeff.
    — Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
  • There are few actors who can go toe-to-toe with Jack Nicholson.
    — Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024
  • The Thunderhawks went toe-to-toe with the Zephyrs in the first half.
    — Andrew Cornelius, Twin Cities, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Jasmine Crockett is going to go toe-to-toe.
    — John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 10 Dec. 2025
  • 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
  • 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
  • Its action scenes could go toe-to-toe with those of, say, a Jason Bourne movie.
    — WIRED, 24 Mar. 2023
  • 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
  • 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
  • Each is an athlete, painstakingly trained over decades to go toe-to-toe with Europe’s finest.
    — Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 20 Dec. 2023
  • The food and beverage industry is full of men, and Anne would go toe-to-toe with the best of them.
    — Michael Nied, People.com, 19 June 2025
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Kim Kardashian will go toe-to-toe with a pair of Hollywood greats.
    — Keisha Hatchett, TVLine, 8 July 2024
  • The two went toe-to-toe for several minutes before Cargill’s allies came down to the ring.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
  • 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
  • Still, the Cowboys have gone toe-to-toe with the NFL’s best this season.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Meanwhile, Bob and Linda go toe-to-toe with a wine snob (Matt Walsh).
    — Lillian Brown, Vulture, 17 May 2024
  • The boxers go toe-to-toe in a grueling fight at the climax of the movie that results in a win for Rocky.
    — Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 28 Nov. 2025
  • 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
  • And this is a classic 'High Noon' toe-to-toe showdown-at-the-corral heavyweight fight.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
  • He’s been growing into his body since and has put a huge amount of work into going toe-to-toe with the world’s best players over five sets.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Toyota is developing a truck to go toe-to-toe with Ford's smallest pickup.
    — Charles Singh, USA Today, 24 Oct. 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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