martial art

American  

noun

martial arts plural

1. Often martial arts any of the traditional forms of Asian self-defense or combat that utilize physical skill and coordination without weapons, as karate, aikido, judo, or kung fu, often practiced as sport.

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martial art British  

noun

1. any of various philosophies of self-defence and techniques of single combat, such as judo or karate, originating in the Far East

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• martial artist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• martial arts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of martial art

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

martial art

Gannon did the rest, bonding with Tahnoon over their shared love of the grappling martial art Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

He boasts of achieving a seventh-degree black belt in Keichu-do karate, a Cajun hodgepodge martial art developed by his biological father, Karl.

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

The first time Weston broke his back it ended a promising career in the martial art for the 28-year-old, but bizarrely it turned out to be a blessing.

From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026

A sixth-degree black belt, Norton also created the Richard Norton Brazilian Jiujitsu Assn., which helped bring the martial art to various clubs and organizations across South Wales, Australia and to Norris’ United Fighting Arts Federation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025

Anyway, I might as well have my own way to protect myself, so I don’t feel I have to rely on Kelton’s Krav Maga, or whatever other lethal martial art he knows.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

• judo
• karate
• wrestling