Meanings
plural combatants
- A person engaged in combat, often armed.
Gladiators were combatants who fought to the death to entertain the public.
5 more examples
Come hither, you that would be combatants: Henceforth I charge you, as you love our favour, Quite to forget this quarrel and the cause.
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]On the passage, one day, for the diversion of those gentlemen, all the boys were called on the quarter deck, and were paired proportionably, and then made to fight; after which the gentlemen gave the combatants from five to nine shillings each.
1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 3, in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, volume 1, London: for the author, page 112If any combatant was struck down, and unable to recover his feet, his squire or page might enter the lists, and drag his master out of the press; but in that case the knight was adjudged vanquished […]
1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC“[…] Don’t you realize that alcohol is an essential part of heroism? The combatant and the drunkard are brothers, you genius.”
1992, Naguib Mahfouz, chapter 48, in William M. Hutchins, Angele Botros Samaan, transl., Sugar Street, New York: Anchor Books, published 1993, page 271The leading voices of the womanosphere are using a similar strategy. As Brittany Hugoboom put it in an op–ed for the rightwing outlet Quillette: “Conservatives will never win if they imagine themselves as combatants atop defensive battlements, hurling abuse on the mass media. We need to involve ourselves in the creation of pop culture.”
2025 April 24, Anna Silman, “Now comes the ‘womanosphere’: the anti-feminist media telling women to be thin, fertile and Republican”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
comparative more combatant · superlative most combatant
- Contending; disposed to contend.
Their valours are not yet so combatant, Or truly antagonistick, as to fight;
1641, Ben Jonson, The Magnetic Lady, New York: Henry Holt, published 1914, act III, scene 5, page 65 - Involving combat.
He wished he were in a combatant service; he wanted to fight, fight.
1921, John Dos Passos, Three Soldiers, New York: Modern Library, published 1932, Part Two, Chapter 1, p. 71 - alternativeAlternative form of combattant (“in heraldry: in a fighting position”).
Or, two lions combatant gules, armed and langued (that is, claws and tongue) azure, is borne by the name of Wycombe; Azure , two lions combatant or, by the name of Carter; Azure , two lions combatant guardant argent, by […]
1846, William Newton, Display of Heraldry, page 84
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveengaging in or ready for combat
nounsomeone who fights (or is fighting)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Frenchcombatant
- Middle Englishcombataunt
- Englishcombatant
Inherited from late Middle English combataunt, from Middle French combatant. By surface analysis, combat + -ant. Doublet of combattant.
More words from Middle English, Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُقَاتِل
- مُقَاتِل (muqātil)person engaged in combat, often armed
Bulgarian бое́ц, во́ин
- бое́ц (boéc)person engaged in combat, often armed
- во́ин (vóin)person engaged in combat, often armed
- войни́к (vojník)person engaged in combat, often armed
Catalan combatent
- combatentperson engaged in combat, often armed
Chinese Mandarin 戰鬥員 /战斗员
- 戰鬥員 /战斗员 (zhàndǒuyuán)person engaged in combat, often armed
Czech bojovník, bojovnice
- bojovníkperson engaged in combat, often armed
- bojovniceperson engaged in combat, often armed
Danish kombattant
- kombattantperson engaged in combat, often armed
Esperanto batalanto, batalantino
- batalantoperson engaged in combat, often armed
- batalantinoperson engaged in combat, often armed
Estonian võitleja, sõdija
- võitlejaperson engaged in combat, often armed
- sõdijaperson engaged in combat, often armed
Finnish taistelija
- taistelijaperson engaged in combat, often armed
French combattant, combattante
- combattantperson engaged in combat, often armed
- combattanteperson engaged in combat, often armed
German Kämpfer, Kämpferin
- Kämpferperson engaged in combat, often armed
- Kämpferinperson engaged in combat, often armed
- Bekämpferperson engaged in combat, often armed
- Bekämpferinperson engaged in combat, often armed
- Kombattantperson engaged in combat, often armed
- Kombattantinperson engaged in combat, often armed
Greek μαχητής, πολεμιστής
- μαχητής (machitís)person engaged in combat, often armed
- πολεμιστής (polemistís)person engaged in combat, often armed
Hindi योद्धा, जंगजू
- योद्धा (yoddhā)person engaged in combat, often armed
- जंगजू (jaṅgjū)person engaged in combat, often armed
Indonesian kombatan, petempur
- kombatanperson engaged in combat, often armed
- petempurperson engaged in combat, often armed
Italian combattente
- combattenteperson engaged in combat, often armed
Japanese 戦闘員
- 戦闘員 (sentōin)person engaged in combat, often armed
Korean 전투원
- 전투원 (jeontuwon)person engaged in combat, often armed
Latin proeliātor
- proeliātorperson engaged in combat, often armed
Latvian cīnītājs, cīnītāja
- cīnītājsperson engaged in combat, often armed
- cīnītājaperson engaged in combat, often armed
Lithuanian kovotojas, kovotoja
- kovotojasperson engaged in combat, often armed
- kovotojaperson engaged in combat, often armed
Malay askar tempur, kombatan
- askar tempurperson engaged in combat, often armed
- kombatanperson engaged in combat, often armed
- penempurperson engaged in combat, often armed
Norwegian Bokmål kombattant
- kombattantperson engaged in combat, often armed
Persian رزمنده, محارب
- رزمنده (razmande)person engaged in combat, often armed
- محارب (mohâreb)person engaged in combat, often armed
- مبارز (mobârez)person engaged in combat, often armed
- جنگجو (jangju)person engaged in combat, often armed
Polish kombatant, kombatantka
- kombatantperson engaged in combat, often armed
- kombatantkaperson engaged in combat, often armed
- bojownikperson engaged in combat, often armed
- bojowniczkaperson engaged in combat, often armed
Portuguese combatente
- combatenteperson engaged in combat, often armed
Romanian combatant, combatantă
- combatantperson engaged in combat, often armed
- combatantăperson engaged in combat, often armed
Russian бое́ц, во́ин
- бое́ц (bojéc)person engaged in combat, often armed
- во́ин (vóin)person engaged in combat, often armed
- комбата́нт (kombatánt)person engaged in combat, often armed
- комбата́нтка (kombatántka)person engaged in combat, often armed
Slovak bojovník, bojovníca
- bojovníkperson engaged in combat, often armed
- bojovnícaperson engaged in combat, often armed
Spanish combatiente
- combatienteperson engaged in combat, often armed
Swedish kombattant
- kombattantperson engaged in combat, often armed
Ukrainian боє́ць, во́їн
- боє́ць (bojécʹ)person engaged in combat, often armed
- во́їн (vójin)person engaged in combat, often armed
- комбата́нт (kombatánt)person engaged in combat, often armed
- комбата́нтка (kombatántka)person engaged in combat, often armed
Urdu جَن٘گجُو
- جَن٘گجُو (jangjū)person engaged in combat, often armed
Cite this entry
combatant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/combatant
“combatant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/combatant. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “combatant,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/combatant.
Source: combatant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.