What does deuce mean?
"Deuce" has two principal meanings. In games, it denotes the number two: the face of a die showing two pips, or a playing card of that rank. More familiarly, it names the tied score of forty-all in tennis (and equivalent ties in related games), where a player must win two consecutive points — first gaining "advantage," then the game itself — to avoid endless stalemate. Beyond sport and gaming, deuce survives as a mild, now somewhat old-fashioned expletive in phrases like "what the deuce?", standing in for stronger oaths. The word came into English in the early sixteenth century from Germanic sources, likely via Low German "duus" or Dutch "deus," both meaning the two at dice. Because a two was long considered an unlucky throw, the term drifted toward exclamatory use. Today it appears constantly in tennis coverage, in card and dice contexts, and occasionally in playful, genteel swearing.
A tied score in tennis and some other games, especially 40–40 in tennis, from which a player must win by two consecutive points.
"With the score at deuce, both players knew the next two points could decide the match."
In tennis scoring, after deuce a player who wins the next point holds "advantage" and must win the following point to take the game.
A playing card bearing two pips, or the side of a die showing two dots.
"She threw a pair of deuces and advanced her token two squares."
Used as a mild exclamation of surprise or annoyance, chiefly British and somewhat dated: "what the deuce."
""What the deuce are you doing with my hat?" he asked, half amused."
Regular plural, used mainly for multiple dice rolls, cards, or instances of a tied score.
"The dealer turned up two deuces in a row."
That mild oath "what the deuce!" traces back to the same old idea of bad luck as rolling a two — the unluckiest roll of the dice.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deuce
The word entered English in the early sixteenth century, borrowed from a continental Germanic source — commonly cited as Middle Low German "duus" or Dutch "deus," meaning the two at dice. Its original sense was simply the unlucky throw of two, which gave rise by the late seventeenth century to its use as a mild euphemism for the devil in exclamations such as "the deuce!" Its adoption as the name for the tied score in tennis dates from the eighteenth century, extending the gaming sense of an equal, unresolved position. Cognates remain in Dutch and Low German.
Related word forms
How deuce is actually used
"Deuce" is common in sports commentary and everyday speech. As an expletive substitute it reads as dated or quaintly British; modern speakers more often say "what the heck" or "what the hell." In tennis, once at deuce, a player must win two consecutive points — one to gain advantage, then the next to take the game.
Easily confused with deuce
"Duce" is an Italian word meaning "leader," most famously the title of Benito Mussolini, whereas "deuce" means a tied score in games or the number two on dice and cards.