street fighter

American  

Or street-fighter

noun

1. a person whose style of fistfighting was learned in the streets, as opposed to a trained or proficient boxer.

2. a person who deals with others in an aggressive, cunning manner.

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Other Word Forms

• street-fighting noun

Example Sentences

Like the cops, crooks and gangland toughs who populate his books, Don Winslow has something of a street fighter’s mentality.

From New York Times

“He is a street fighter who has become a publisher, a businessman, an educator and a de facto politician of great substance,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson says at one point.

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the more oddball chapters are great; my particular favorite follows a budding street fighter through a series of battles that plays out like, well, a Street Fighter game.

From The Verge

Society is quick to shun, stigmatize and belittle the blue-collar street fighter.

From Washington Post

“We’re going after him,” Ms. Cisneros said at a picnic table outside the taqueria next to her campaign headquarters, with the confidence of a seasoned political street fighter.

From New York Times