death match

or death·match

[ deth mach ]

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?

Word History and Origins

Origin of death match¹

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

Example Sentences

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

Ice cream dates will likely be no match against an opposition that is offering a political version of a steel cage death match and the terror dome.

From Salon

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

While he wasn’t particularly clear about what he meant by likening X to a death match, he did bring it up in the context of the occasional late-night posts in which he appears to be spoiling for an argument.

From Seattle Times

The system created for post-World War II Germany — mixed-member proportionality, blending these two systems of districts and proportionality, marrying those two features — lets us get to that sweet spot, the right number of parties, and gives those parties a genuine role in government, so we end this winner-take-all death match between the two parties every four years.

From Salon