toe to toe

English

Alternative forms

• toe-to-toe

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ

Adverb

toe to toe (not comparable)

1. (literal) Positioned facing another, with the toes touching.

   Coordinate term: face to face

2. (figurative, of skill etc.) In the same level as someone else.

   Synonym: head to head

   standing toe to toe

3. Against, in direct opposition.

   Synonym: head to head

   go toe to toe with someone

   • 2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in The A.V. Club‎:

     It would be difficult, for example, to imagine a bigger, more obvious subject for comedy than the laughable self-delusion of washed-up celebrities, especially if the washed-up celebrity in question is Adam West, a camp icon who can go toe to toe with William Shatner as the king of winking self-parody.

   • 2022 March 31, David Yaffe-Bellany, “Ben McKenzie Would Like a Word With the Crypto Bros”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Mr. Harris said he was confident he could go toe to toe with any skeptic; he bragged that he’d recently schooled some crypto haters from Vice News.

   • 2023 January 9, Andrew E. Kramer, Nicole Tung, “Without Hesitation, Ukraine Goes Toe to Toe With Russia in Bakhmut”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     It’s a grim stalemate that has taken on the rhythms of a heavyweight title bout, with each side going toe to toe in one of the longest-running battles of the war.

See also

Further reading

• “go toe to toe with someone”, in Collins English Dictionary.