matador

[ mat-uh-dawr ]

noun

1. the principal bullfighter in a bullfight who passes the bull with a muleta and then, in many countries, kills it with a sword thrust; a torero.
2. one of the principal cards in skat and certain other games.
3. (initial capital letter) a jet-powered U.S. surface-to-surface missile.

matador

/ ˈmætədɔː /

noun

1. the principal bullfighter who is appointed to kill the bull
2. (in some card games such as skat) one of the highest ranking cards
3. a game played with dominoes in which the dots on adjacent halves must total seven

Word History and Origins

Origin of matador¹

1665–75; < Spanish, equivalent to mata ( r ) to kill (perhaps < Vulgar Latin *mattāre, presumed derivative of Late Latin mattus soft, weak; matte ¹ ) +- dor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of matador¹

C17: from Spanish, from matar to kill

Example Sentences

Comfortable and practical, work hard and play hard, and look great all the way- the perfect gear to help you find your true matador within.

From Washington Blade

The North Dakota native is the fourth of seven children raised in the small town of Matador, pop.

From The Daily Beast

It's a snap of the matador's red cape, a defiant baiting of Fox News and talk radio.

From The Daily Beast

Neither Matador nor Power, known off-stage as Chan Marshall, had any additional comments.

From The Daily Beast

A representative from her label, Matador Records, confirmed that nothing has been canceled.

From The Daily Beast

Gerard Cosloy, who would sign the band to his Matador Records years later, criticized their early shows.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps Frank Harris's "Matador" gave me the impulse, together with my perpetual quest for a new experience.

From Project Gutenberg

The trick of the matador with his red cloak suggested itself in this181 moment of peril.

From Project Gutenberg

A brave hand may yet cut the "Sipo Matador," and the slayer be slain before he has quite stifled his victim.

From Project Gutenberg

She proposed that he should write her life, “starting with the assumption that she was a daughter of the famous matador, Montes.”

From Project Gutenberg

The matador foils and plays with the bull until he has discovered his disposition.

From Project Gutenberg