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Synonyms

fighter

American  
[fahy-ter] / ˈfaɪ tər /

noun

  1. a boxer; pugilist.

  2. Military. an aircraft designed to seek out and destroy enemy aircraft in the air and to protect bomber aircraft.

  3. a person who fights, struggles, resists, etc.

  4. a person with the will, courage, determination, ability, or disposition to fight, struggle, resist, etc.

  5. an animal, as a dog, trained to fight or having the disposition to fight.

fighter British  
/ ˈfaɪtə /

noun

  1. a person who fights, esp a professional boxer

  2. a person who has determination

  3. military an armed aircraft designed for destroying other aircraft

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonfighter noun

Etymology

Origin of fighter

before 1000; Middle English; Old English fēohtere. See fight, -er 1

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.

As a fellow fighter, I do have concerns for boxers in every fight.

From BBC

It also has a small but capable air force with U.S.-supplied F-16 jet fighters that conducted airstrikes in Iraq alongside the U.S. in the fight against Islamic State.

From The Wall Street Journal

Victor Glover is a former US Navy fighter pilot and test pilot who was selected as a Nasa astronaut in 2013.

From BBC

“The Chinese military is building up, and they’re getting aircraft carriers, increasing the number of jet fighters, increasing the number of submarines,” said Kono.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Saturday, the USS Tripoli, a naval warship, arrived in the Middle East carrying about 3,500 sailors and Marines and a transport of fighter planes.

From Los Angeles Times

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.