challenger
Americannoun
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a person or thing that challenges.
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Boxing. a boxer who fights a champion for his championship title.
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Radio. interrogator.
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U.S. Aerospace. none Challenger the second space shuttle to orbit and return to earth: exploded 1½ min. after launch on Jan. 28, 1986, causing the death of all seven on board.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of challenger
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at challenge, -er 1
Explanation
Challengers don’t let things stay the way they are, they go against something already in place, like a rule or the score on the scoreboard. Or they go after the same thing you may want, like victory in a competition or even the parking spot you were waiting for. In earlier history, during the Middle Ages, a challenger was mostly a dreaded foe or someone who wanted to fight to the death with a sword. Some challengers want to challenge the truth or rightness of something, and that can be pretty serious too. In modern times, though, the word challenger often describes competitors who want to challenge each other in sports, on TV game shows, or in arguments. These challengers enjoy the challenge itself.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He snuck into the main draw on ranking after going away and winning Challenger matches out of the limelight - just like Katie Swan did.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026
I get thumbs-ups from Mustang drivers and cool head nods from Challenger owners.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026
Challenger Gray’s broad report on job losses, not all of them based in the U.S., showed the largest layoff total last month since 2020—97,000 layoffs.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
And a recent report by outplacement and executive-coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts it will fall again this summer to a record low.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
She had first applied for admission to NASA’s astronaut training program in 1985, but the Challenger disaster had delayed the process.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
