matador
Americannoun
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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.
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one of the principal cards in skat and certain other games.
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(initial capital letter) a jet-powered U.S. surface-to-surface missile.
noun
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the principal bullfighter who is appointed to kill the bull
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(in some card games such as skat) one of the highest ranking cards
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a game played with dominoes in which the dots on adjacent halves must total seven
Etymology
Origin of matador
1665–75; < Spanish, equivalent to mata ( r ) to kill (perhaps < Vulgar Latin *mattāre, presumed derivative of Late Latin mattus soft, weak; cf. matte 1) +- dor -tor
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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.
This relentless bull market may finally have found its matador.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
The ghost of young matador Pedro Romero, the quiet center of Jake’s storm, waits on the bullring sand.
From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025
Beetlejuice dabbles in other goofy alternatives such as a matador outfit and an afterlife customs-officer uniform.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2024
The matador as an artist is an established idea within the bullfighting community.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2024
The child was doubly mistaken, for in the first place she meant matador, and in the second place there was no matador, just a bright red steam locomotive.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
