FIGHTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fighter mean? 

• FIGHTER (noun)
  The noun FIGHTER has 3 senses:

1. someone who fights (or is fighting)

2. a high-speed military or naval airplane designed to destroy enemy aircraft in the air

3. someone who fights for a cause

  Familiarity information: FIGHTER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FIGHTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Someone who fights (or is fighting)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

battler; belligerent; combatant; fighter; scrapper

Hypernyms ("fighter" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fighter"):

defender; withstander (a fighter who holds out against attack)

boxer; pugilist (someone who fights with his fists for sport)

brawler (a fighter (especially one who participates in brawls))

butter (a fighter who strikes the opponent with his head)

fencer; swordsman (someone skilled at fencing)

gladiator ((ancient Rome) a professional combatant or a captive who entertained the public by engaging in mortal combat)

gouger (an attacker who gouges out the antagonist's eye)

gamecock; hell-kite; hell-rooster (someone who is a very fierce fighter)

mauler (a fighter who batters the opponent)

skirmisher (someone who skirmishes (e.g., as a member of a scouting party))

street fighter; tough (someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing)

master; superior; victor (a combatant who is able to defeat rivals)

grappler; matman; wrestler (combatant who tries to throw opponent to the ground)

Derivation:

fight (be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight)

fight (fight against or resist strongly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A high-speed military or naval airplane designed to destroy enemy aircraft in the air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

attack aircraft; fighter; fighter aircraft

Hypernyms ("fighter" is a kind of...):

military plane; warplane (an aircraft designed and used for combat)

aeroplane; airplane; plane (an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fighter"):

interceptor (a fast maneuverable fighter plane designed to intercept enemy aircraft)

kamikaze (a fighter plane used for suicide missions by Japanese pilots in World War II)

stealth fighter (a fighter that is difficult to detect by radar; is built for precise targeting and uses laser-guided bombs)

Derivation:

fight (be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight)

fight (fight against or resist strongly)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Someone who fights for a cause

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

champion; fighter; hero; paladin

Hypernyms ("fighter" is a kind of...):

defender; guardian; protector; shielder (a person who cares for persons or property)

Derivation:

fight (exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for)

 Context examples 

They are great fighters, and they hate the ape-men even as we do.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

All restraint had been done away with, and the prize-fighters, flushed with wine, roared across the tables to each other, or shouted their greetings to friends at the other end of the room.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"The Transcontinental crowd were nanny-goats, but you fellows are a lot of prize-fighters."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

In the main, so efficient a fighter had he become, he went his way unscathed.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Never had I seen so profound a despair as that which I saw on his face,—the face of Wolf Larsen the fighter, the strong man, the indomitable one.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

There were fierce fighters among them, but three battles with the fiercest brought Buck to mastery, so that when he bristled and showed his teeth they got out of his way.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He was a pale, tallowy creature, wanting two fingers of the left hand, and though he wore a cutlass, he did not look much like a fighter.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

"I'll leave you in peace if you'll only let your hair grow. I'm not aristocratic, but I do object to being seen with a person who looks like a young prize fighter," observed Jo severely.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The scientists isolated immune cells from the patient’s blood and used them to make 91 monoclonal antibodies—immune system fighters designed to bind to a specific part of an invading virus or bacterium to stop the infection.

(Monoclonal antibodies against Zika show promise in monkey study, National Institutes of Health)

“You must put a stopper on ’im gov’nor,” said several of the other prize-fighters.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)