head to head
Face to face
Head to head describes direct competition or confrontation between two opponents: The candidates will go head to head in tonight's debate.
The phrase evokes two combatants facing each other, foreheads nearly touching.
As a noun or adjective, it often appears hyphenated: a head-to-head matchup, The poll shows a statistical head-to-head.
- face-offDirect clash between opponents
- clashViolent disagreement or collision
- mano a manoDirect personal competition
- toe to toeIn direct confrontation
- face to faceIn someone's presence
duel · no holds barred · competition · rival · matchup · grudge match · neck and neck · two horse race · hand-to-hand · confrontation · showdown · final showdown · juxtaposition · one-on-one · versus · title fight · comparison · battle
- battles of the bandsshowcase event, finals
- competitioncompete, competitor, contender, winner, sports
- two-player gameschess, checkers, backgammon, tic-tac-toe, Connect Four
- archeryarrow, bow, bows, arrows, archer
- sports termssoccer, football, basketball, tennis, golf
- comparisonscomparison, compare, comparative, analogy, metaphor
head to headfree-for-all
Unregulated group conflict
battle royale · indirectly · every man for himself · melee · round robin
head to headside by side
Adjacent and parallel
hand in hand · in partnership · collaboratively · cooperatively · in tandem
head to headback to back
In unbroken sequence
side by side · shoulder to shoulder · in tandem · parallel · head to tail
head, forehead, heading, heads, headed, headline, header, egghead, headlines