warrior
Americannoun
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warriors
plural
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a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.
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a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of warrior
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English werreieor, from Old North French; equivalent to war 1 + -or 2
Compare meaning
How does warrior compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Although logically linked with someone engaged in war, a warrior can be anyone who fights the good fight, whether in politics, on the job, or just as a "weekend warrior" trying to accomplish multiple tasks during off-hours at home. As the Old French guerre meant "war," it led to the word guerreor for someone who wages war. This eventually morphed into the word we know as warrior. The word can also refer to someone fighting a philosophical or political war. Author Carlos Castandeda said, "Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other.” After ridding the kitchen of ants, you felt like a proud warrior.
Vocabulary lists containing warrior
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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.
See Examples For:
Agrippa, a brilliant warrior on land, proves as formidable at sea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
"We shared the canvas and pushed each other to be our absolute best inside the squared ring. A true warrior and champion. Rest in peace, champ. Prayers with your family and loved ones," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
“The warrior ethos shouldn’t have to include bravely facing water contamination. ... Even warfighters need basic care.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Bin day cometh," quipped Binface, the self-styled "intergalactic space warrior" from the fictional planet Sigma IX.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“She was asleep and the warrior protected her while she dreamed.”
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
The most electable progressives are instead happy warriors, a quality Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have in spades.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Given the critical shortage of air defense missiles from our partners, our warriors are accomplishing truly incredible things," Zelensky said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Suggesting we imagine the husband’s experience during the marriage and subsequent breakup feels like I’ve broken a blood oath with women warriors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
And the team’s official World Cup photo features the players dressed as Nordic warriors, weapons in hand, posed before a scenic fjord with long boats in the background.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
The warriors looked confused a moment, then nodded.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
