death match

American  

[deth mach] / ˈdɛθ ˌmætʃ /

Or deathmatch

noun

1. Professional Wrestling. a type of wrestling match in which dangerous objects such as nail-studded props, glass, and barbed wire are allowed in a graphically brutal and bloody spectacle.

2. a genre of multiplayer video game in which a player’s goal is to kill or otherwise eliminate opponents’ player characters from the match.

3. a literal or metaphorical fight to the death in which a combatant becomes the victor by eliminating one or more enemies: In a pizza topping death match, who would win—classic pepperoni or exotic pineapple?

   The slasher film Freddy vs. Jason pits the two horror icons against each other in a gory death match.

   In a pizza topping death match, who would win—classic pepperoni or exotic pineapple?

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Etymology

Origin of death match

First recorded in 1955–60 death match for def. 1, in 1970–75 death match for def. 3, and in 1990–95 death match for def. 2

Example Sentences

The climactic battle in “Killer of Killers” involves a Viking warrior mother, a 17th-century shinobi, and a Hispanic World War II-era pilot working together, despite vast cultural differences and language barriers, to survive a Yautja death match.

From Salon

Part of the series’ breathtaking cinematic scope includes occasional jolts of action, and this long-foreshadowed death match lives up to the best of those scenes.

From Salon

The medical board does not name patients in its accusations, but details of her surgery and death match those of Johnson, whose husband sued Naim and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

From Los Angeles Times

The Hollywood sketch and improv mecca pits “Gays vs. Straights,” in a “gameshow death match” June 1, the venue’s first all trans/gender-nonconforming/nonbinary improv team delivers “QT’s Present…Joy!”

From Los Angeles Times

And that happy participation in pop’s celebrity death match is a crucial distinction from recent work by Billie Eilish and Lorde, who seem perpetually on the lookout for an escape from the highly scrutinized lives they’ve created.

From Los Angeles Times