gladiator
Americannoun
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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
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.
A gladiator, it seems, moved up the ranks—often through training and victories in the arena—“like a trainee orator moving from imaginary speeches to those of the courtroom.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 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
Still enraged from the disrespectful way he felt he’d been treated during his visit to Moscow a year before, Bobby began acting the role of a Cold War gladiator.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
