Synonyms

challenger

American

[chal-in-jer] / ˈtʃæl ɪn dʒər /

noun

a person or thing that challenges.
Boxing. a boxer who fights a champion for his championship title.
Radio. interrogator.
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.

Seven City Council incumbents face at least one challenger, while Councilmember Monica Rodriguez is running unopposed to represent her northeast San Fernando Valley district.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 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

When it was founded in Aberdeenshire the firm portrayed itself as a rebellious challenger to a UK brewing industry it regarded as stuffy and corporate.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

Petrosian resigned on the forty-sixth move, and Bobby Fischer was the new challenger for the World Championship.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023