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
- nonchallenger noun
Etymology
Origin of challenger
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; challenge, -er 1
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.
The Pollen-Isherwood story provides a lesson about the danger of decadence for the reigning hegemon in the face of a rising challenger.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
Rivers, 22, is the sole challenger to incumbent Tim McOsker in the June 2 primary election.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
A new challenger also emerged on Sunday when Senator Paloma Valencia won a center-right primary by a wide margin.
From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026
Investors shouldn’t even take the current dominance of OpenAI, Anthropic and Google as an absolute, as Slowinski cautioned that a dark-horse challenger could still emerge to disrupt the hierarchy in the coming months.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026
He was already facing a challenger from outside and would not tolerate the presence of another lone male.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
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.
