duo

/ˈduoʊ/

/ˈduəʊ/

Other forms: dui; duos

A duo is a pair of things or people. Batman and Robin are a famous dynamic duo, but a duo is any two people doing something together, not just crime fighting. In fact, a duo usually entertains.

You can complain that you can't find a duo of matching socks, but it's more common to use duo for people who perform together. For example, Penn and Teller are a magician duo, and Laurel and Hardy were a comedy duo. If you and your sister play your ukuleles together in the subway for tips, you're also a duo. Originally, a duo was a song written for two voices, from the Latin meaning of duo, "two."

Definitions of duo

1. noun

   two items of the same kind
   synonyms: brace, couple, couplet, distich, duad, duet, dyad, pair, span, twain, twosome, yoke

   types:

   doubleton

   (bridge) a pair of playing cards that are the only cards in their suit in the hand dealt to a player

   type of:

   2, II, deuce, two

   the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
2. noun

   a pair who associate with one another
   synonyms: couple, duet, twosome

   types:

   same-sex marriage

   two people of the same sex who live together as a family

   type of:

   pair

   two people considered as a unit
3. noun

   two performers or singers who perform together
   synonyms: duet, duette

   examples:

   Laurel and Hardy

   United States slapstick comedy duo who made many films together

   type of:

   musical group, musical organisation, musical organization

   an organization of musicians who perform together
4. noun

   a musical composition for two performers
   synonyms: duet, duette

   type of:

   composition, musical composition, opus, piece, piece of music

   a musical work that has been created