Part of Speech: Noun

Definition: any contest between two persons or parties.

Source: Dictionary.com

Found in What We Miss by Sarah Manguso line 7

“Failure is more like this than like duels and marathons.”

Knowing the definition of duel helped me understand the concept the speaker was talking about in the poem. The speaker was comparing different types of failures. The kind of failure the speaker is talking about is different than failing at a duel or marathon.