Dictionary

toe to toe en · ADV

(not-comparable, qualifier:literal) Positioned facing another, with the toes touching.
(figuratively, not-comparable, of skill etc.) At the same level as someone else.
- standing toe to toe
(not-comparable) Against, in direct opposition.
- 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. 2022 March 31, David Yaffe-Bellany, “Ben McKenzie Would Like a Word With the Crypto Bros”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- 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. 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:
- go toe to toe with someone
- 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. 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:

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
toe-to-toe		alternative	lexicographic