deuce and duce are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. deuce means “a tie in tennis or table tennis that requires winning two successive points to win the game”. duce means “leader”.
/ˈdus/
1.n.a tie in tennis or table tennis that requires winning two successive points to win the game
2.n.the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
3.n.a word used in exclamations of confusion
“what the devil”
/ˈdus/
| deuce | duce | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈdus/ | /ˈdus/ |
| Said | doos | doos |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 5 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun |
| Senses | 4 | 1 |
| How common | Familiar | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for deuce · Full entry for duce · More comparisons
1.n.leader
“Mussolini was called Il Duce”