matador

American  

[mat-uh-dawr] / ˈmæt əˌdɔr /

noun

matadors plural

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.

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matador British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• matadors
  plural

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

Compare meaning

How does matador compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• toreador vs. matador

Example Sentences

Neugebauer’s ouster came less than a month after Fermi confirmed it hasn’t signed a cornerstone tenant for its 7,570-acre Project Matador site in Amarillo, Texas.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

News of Foreman’s death on Tuesday was confirmed by Cat Power’s label, Matador Records.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Fermi’s stock sank to a record low, as Project Matador has yet to secure its first client, and the company didn’t provide clarity on when it would.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Data-center developer Fermi has not secured a cornerstone tenant for its Project Matador campus in Amarillo, Texas.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

And once I asked Frank Harris to explain to me the origin of his vivid story, 'Montes the Matador.'

From The Merry-Go-Round by Van Vechten, Carl