combatant
[kuh m-bat-nt, kom-buh-tuh nt, kuhm-]
- a nation engaged in active fighting with enemy forces.
- a person or group that fights.
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Origin of combatant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for combatants
Contemporary Examples
“We faced these issues of combatants without insignia in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.
But that is not going to happen until the combatants are much more exhausted than they are now.
When soldiers are killed, I mourn, but at least I understand the mechanism at hand: We kill their combatants, they kill ours.
For hours no troops were to be seen, until, finally, late at night, they moved in to separate the combatants.
But they were not combatants fighting for a particular political or religious goal.
Historical Examples
This short speech was received with applause by the combatants.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis MarionWilliam Dobein James
Six navvies, three to the man, jumped and grabbed the combatants.
The Cruise of the Dry DockT. S. Stribling
A mad rush of anger sent him leaping in amongst the combatants.
White FangJack London
At that moment the wind dropped, and the combatants were suspended in mid-air.
One of the combatants was the city of Athens, the other was the great island of Atlantis.
CritiasPlato
combatant
- a person or group engaged in or prepared for a fight, struggle, or dispute
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- engaged in or ready for combat
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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.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper