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n. 1. a. A playing card having two spots or the side of a die bearing two pips. b. A cast of dice totaling two. 2. A tied score in tennis in which each player or side has 40 points, or 5 or more games, and one player or side must win 2 successive points to win the game, or 2 successive games to win the set. tr.v. deuced, deuc·ing, deuc·es To make the score of (a tennis game or set) deuce. [Middle English deus, from Old French, two, from Latin duōs, masculine accusative of duo; see dwo- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. 1. The devil: "Love is a bodily infirmity ... which breaks out the deuce knows how or why" (William Makepeace Thackeray). 2. An outstanding example, especially of something difficult or bad: a deuce of a family row. 3. A severe reprimand or expression of anger: got the deuce for being late. 4. Used as an intensive: What the deuce were they thinking of? [Probably from Low German duus, a throw of two in dice games, bad luck, ultimately from Latin duo, two; see DEUCE1.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
