combatant

[ kuh m-bat-nt, kom-buh-tuh nt, kuhm- ]

/ kəmˈbæt nt, ˈkɒm bə tənt, ˈkʌm- /

noun

a nation engaged in active fighting with enemy forces.

a person or group that fights.

adjective

combating; fighting: the combatant armies.

disposed to combat; combative.

Nearby words

Origin of combatant

1425–75; late Middle English combataunt < Middle French combatant. See combat, -ant

Related formspre·com·bat·ant, nounun·com·bat·ant, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for combatants

“We faced these issues of combatants without insignia in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.
Shocked by Ukraine Violence, NATO Prepares to Face Down Putin|Leo Cendrowicz|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But that is not going to happen until the combatants are much more exhausted than they are now.
Up to Speed: Five Things You Need to Know on Syria|Christopher Dickey|September 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When soldiers are killed, I mourn, but at least I understand the mechanism at hand: We kill their combatants, they kill ours.
In Memory of the Victims of Murderers Just Sent Home|Emily L. Hauser|August 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For hours no troops were to be seen, until, finally, late at night, they moved in to separate the combatants.
Egypt’s Military Is Waiting for the Worst|Christopher Dickey, Mike Giglio|July 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

But they were not combatants fighting for a particular political or religious goal.
The Boston Marathon Suspects Are Killers, Not Combatants|Michael Daly|April 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
By degrees the shrieks and cries of the combatants grew fainter on our ears, till they ceased altogether.
Mark Seaworth|William H.G. Kingston
For no one of the nine or ten combatants of the present war could have maintained its position or defended itself alone.
New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 2, No. 1, April, 1915|Various
The combatants on both sides slept upon their arms, well knowing that the dawn would bring bloody work.
Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V1|Jacob Dolson Cox
And now he came hurrying out of the house, shrieking commands and curses at the combatants.
Bob, Son of Battle|Alfred Ollivant
The combatants were then placed half facing each other, fifteen paces apart.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks|Bracebridge Hemyng

British Dictionary definitions for combatants

combatant

/ (ˈkɒmbətənt, ˈkʌm-) /

noun

a person or group engaged in or prepared for a fight, struggle, or dispute

adjective

engaged in or ready for combat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for combatants

combatant

mid-15c. (adj.), late 15c. (n.), from Old French combatant (Modern French combattant) "skilled at fighting, warlike" (also used as a noun in Old French), present participle adjective of combattre (see combat (v.)).

combatant

noun

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of combatant

Examples from the Web for combatants

combatant

noun

adjective

combatant