deathmatch

Pluraldeathmatches

Formsdeathmatches, deathmatching, deathmatched

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A competitive mode in first-person shooter games in which players try to eliminate one another for points.

   Like a free-for-all brawl where every player fights everyone else at once.

   The tournament opened with a four-player deathmatch on the smallest map.

   She topped the scoreboard in every deathmatch she joined that night.

   Note

   A plain compound of death and match, it names a mode of play rather than any one game. Rounds end on a frag total or a time limit, not on capturing or defending an objective. When every player fights alone it is a free-for-all, and when there are sides it is a team deathmatch. It works as a count noun (a four-player deathmatch) and as a mass noun (players who prefer deathmatch).

2. 2
   verbintransitive

   To take part in a deathmatch game mode, competing to rack up eliminations against other players.

   Like jumping into a free-for-all where you fight everyone in the room at once.

   The friends deathmatch for hours whenever a new map drops.

   I prefer to deathmatch rather than grind through the campaign.

   Note

   Here no rival is named, and the verb describes the activity as a whole. It sits naturally with durations and habits, as in deathmatch for hours or deathmatch every weekend, and not with a person beaten. Use the transitive "play against" verb when the opponent matters. The usual contrast is with objective-based play or a single-player campaign, not with another player.

3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To play against another player as an opponent in a deathmatch, trying to outscore them in eliminations.

   Like squaring off against a rival in a head-to-head duel.

   Challengers line up to deathmatch the current title holder.

   She deathmatched three opponents in a row without losing once.

   Note

   The noun turned verb, with the opponent as its direct object: you deathmatch someone. id Software's Doom (1993) already used it in a parting jab when the player quits: "If I were your boss, I'd deathmatch ya in a minute!" There it is half challenge, half playful threat. It inflects regularly (deathmatched, deathmatching), and without an object it becomes the verb for the pastime itself.

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