fighter
Americannoun
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a boxer; pugilist.
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Military. an aircraft designed to seek out and destroy enemy aircraft in the air and to protect bomber aircraft.
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a person who fights, struggles, resists, etc.
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a person with the will, courage, determination, ability, or disposition to fight, struggle, resist, etc.
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an animal, as a dog, trained to fight or having the disposition to fight.
noun
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a person who fights, esp a professional boxer
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a person who has determination
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military an armed aircraft designed for destroying other aircraft
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fighter
before 1000; Middle English; Old English fēohtere. See fight, -er 1
Explanation
Someone who battles or brawls with other people is a fighter. Some fighters, like boxers, do it professionally, while others just have a tendency to fight. If you have a habit of getting into scuffles or fistfights, you're a fighter, and when you watch a boxing match, you might pick one of the two fighters to root for. An animal might also be described as a fighter: lions are natural fighters, and a fish struggling hard on the end of a hook is a fighter. Other fighters work heroically for a belief or ideal: "She was a fighter in the struggle for civil rights."
Vocabulary lists containing fighter
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.
Air Force would provide only half the previously committed number of long-range bombers and two-thirds the number of fighter jets.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
Prosecutors allege that Brown provided unauthorized training to China’s air force, including by speaking at a Beijing military conference on topics including the F-35 stealth fighter and the structure of the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
Saudi Arabia is giving Sudan billions of dollars’ worth of UAVs and air defenses purchased from Pakistan, and even fifth-generation Chinese fighter jets.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
Did he share a fake video of himself as a fighter pilot dumping human waste on No Kings protesters?
From Salon • May 24, 2026
Soon the young fighter pilots at Engels were practicing shooting at targets and working on aerobatic loops and rolls.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
