gladiator
Americannoun
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gladiators
plural
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(in ancient Rome) a person, often a slave or captive, who was armed with a sword or other weapon and compelled to fight to the death in a public arena against another person or a wild animal, for the entertainment of the spectators.
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a person who engages in a fight or controversy.
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a prizefighter.
noun
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(in ancient Rome and Etruria) a man trained to fight in arenas to provide entertainment
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a person who supports and fights publicly for a cause
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gladiator
1535–45; < Latin gladiātor, equivalent to gladi ( us ) sword + -ātor -ator
Explanation
In ancient Rome, gladiators fought each other in front of an audience. Though these fights were called "games," they often ended in the death of one of the gladiators. Although they were celebrated in art and applauded for their strength and fighting skill, it wasn't easy to be an ancient Roman gladiator. They were essentially slaves who were forced to fight, sometimes being matched against wild animals or criminals. While the gladiator games may seem horrible to us today, they lasted almost a thousand years. The word gladiator comes from the Latin gladius, or "sword."
Vocabulary lists containing gladiator
Ancient Rome - Introductory
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Ancient Rome - Middle School and High School
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The Roman and Byzantine Empires, Lessons 3–4
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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.
See Examples For:
He’s even holding a gladiator contest on the White House lawn in June to celebrate his birthday.
From Salon ● May 3, 2026
"You get these gladiator humans and it looks like they weren't even carrying anything," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
On this week’s Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick talked with election law gladiator Marc Elias, chair of Elias Law Group and founder of Democracy Docket.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2026
“She’d go out there and be the last gladiator standing if it were up to her.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2026
He’d changed out of the gladiator armor and was now wearing a Hawaiian shirt that even Dionysus would’ve found vulgar.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
"It makes me think of gladiators in the Colosseum," deputy chief executive Jeremy Davies told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Who were the people chosen—one might say condemned—to serve as gladiators?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
History is on the line in the Australian Open men's final on Sunday with tennis gladiators Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz each vowing no surrender.
From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026
But Ashur sees her and the rest of his gladiators as property, believing his wealth and diplomatic acumen can one day buy him a seat at the table of Rome’s most powerful.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025
We would attend the afternoon show, usually featuring films about the Wild West and gladiators.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
