lock horns
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Engage in conflict.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Today the world's top giant slalom men lock horns for vital early points in the World Cup battle which ends next March in Sweden.
RUGBY LEAGUE 'S deadliest rivals lock horns in the season's big curtain - raiser at Gateshead tomorrow — and the heat will be as fierce as ever.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “lock horns” mean?
Engage in conflict.
Is “lock horns” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.