Deuce
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards.
"You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. The deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. And when I see the trey I think of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
- 2 The Devil, used in exclamations of confusion or anger.
"Love is a bodily infirmity […] which breaks out the deuce knows how or why"
- 3 one of the four playing cards in a deck that have two spots wordnet
- 4 A side of a die with two spots.
- 5 Synonym of devil (“something awkward or difficult”).
"We had a deuce of a time getting here."
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 a word used in exclamations of confusion wordnet
- 7 A cast of dice totalling two.
- 8 the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number wordnet
- 9 The number two.; A piece of excrement; number two. Canada, US, slang
- 10 a tie in tennis or table tennis that requires winning two successive points to win the game wordnet
- 11 The number two.; A two-year prison sentence. Canada, slang
"Bisexual male, 28, doing a deuce in a segregated housing unit due to positive HIV test result, seeks correspondence from both genders."
- 12 A hand gesture consisting of a raised index and middle finger, a peace sign.
- 13 A tied game where either player can win by scoring two consecutive points.
- 14 A curveball.
- 15 A 1932 Ford.
"And she was blinded by the light/Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night."
- 16 Two-barrel (twin choke) carburetors (in the phrase three deuces: an arrangement on a common intake manifold). in-plural
- 17 A table seating two diners. slang
- 18 A twopence coin. archaic, slang
"It was a shame of the chalk-takers to take their fee without even scoring one little mark; but chalk-takers are inexorable and must be paid their twopence. 'Down with your deuces', was the demand after each pair of birds had competed."
- 19 douche euphemistic, slang
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of deuce (“the Devil”). alt-of
"“I should not allow any one to inconvenience me, if I could hinder it—walk in!” The “walk in,” was uttered with closed teeth and expressed the sentiment, “Go to the Deuce!”"
Example
More examples"There will be the deuce to pay."
Etymology
From Middle English dewes (“two”), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French deus, from Latin duo. The word was used by Ford Motor Co. in 1932 to describe a two-seater car model.
Compare Late Latin dusius (“phantom, specter”); Scottish Gaelic taibhs, taibhse (“apparition, ghost”); or from Old French deus (“God”), from Latin deus (compare deity).
Related phrases
More for "deuce"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.