How to Use matador in a Sentence

matador

noun
  • Horry, chest puffed and arms flexed, gave a cold matador’s stare as his team rushed to him.
    — Marcos Bretón, sacbee.com, 26 May 2017
  • Observe the sash, stretched and pleated across the matador’s waist.
    — Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2022
  • Kudos to the brave matador who wants to stick a fork in greyhound dog-racing.
    — George Diaz, OrlandoSentinel.com, 22 Mar. 2018
  • The label seems to have a matador on it, which is odd since the toothpaste is from France.
    — Nick Marino, GQ, 15 June 2018
  • Several matadors jumped in and steered the bull away from doing more more damage.
    — Howard Gensler, Philly.com, 28 Aug. 2017
  • A week into September is not the time to get sleepy on the bases and play first base like a matador.
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 7 Sep. 2021
  • In a black top and pants with a bright red scarf secured around her hips, Buckley is giving…matador?
    — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 15 Dec. 2025
  • What was even more telling, is that the mantids did not attract the matador bugs that were actively waving.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Pay respect to the brave souls before you who have cut their own bangs, like a matador praying before a bullfight.
    — Jiji Lee, The New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2020
  • The pants also featured allover capri matador embroidery, calf-length.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • The transitions from light to dark in the matador’s face and stockings, for instance, is abrupt to the point of coarseness.
    — Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2022
  • This book had matadors, adoptions, nuns, rich Americans, and lots of secrets!
    — Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Milos Teodosic is a magician with the ball and a matador on defense.
    — Ben Golliver, SI.com, 10 Oct. 2017
  • In afternoon bullfights, the bulls face matadors and almost certain death. Herding the bulls through the streets of Pamplona dates back to the 13th century to corral the bulls into a bullfighting ring.
    — Jessica Durando, USA TODAY, 6 July 2017
  • The horsemen are a key part of Spanish bullfighting, to tire the bull ahead of its final death at the hands of the matador.
    — Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024
  • The matador couldn’t get out of the way of one of the bulls in time and stayed down holding his butt before being carried out of the bullring in pain.
    — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Usually, after five minutes of waving around a feather toy like a matador, my cat looks downright bored.
    — Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 16 Feb. 2024
  • The matador seemed to be allowing for a beat of anticipation before the kill.
    — New York Times, 3 May 2022
  • Their dance began with spider web graphics covering the floor as Whitney whipped her skirt around like a matador.
    — Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Previously scientists thought that male matador bugs waved their leg flags to attract a female.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The scarf is used much as a matador wields a cape to lure a bull before the climactic moment in the song, which ends with the dancers pretending to kiss.
    — Fernanda Pérez Sánchez, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2022
  • Padilla is one of Spain’s most famous matadors and he has been rewarded and praised for his bullfighting skills.
    — Katherine Lam, Fox News, 10 July 2018
  • The cantina also functions, strangely enough, as a matador museum.
    — Scarlett Lindeman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2018
  • If the matador doesn’t make a clean kill, and causes undue suffering, fans have been known to boo in response, and sometimes even beat the matador in the street.
    — Chris Vognar, Chron, 17 May 2023
  • Sassoon was a matador in kitten heels, baiting Bankman-Fried before driving her sword through his shoulders.
    — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 31 Oct. 2023
  • Ferdinand is a young bull who escapes from a training camp in rural Spain after his father never returns from a showdown with a matador.
    — Joey Morona, cleveland.com, 14 Dec. 2017
  • On average, the matador bugs increased their waving behavior seven times more in the presence of the predatory mantids.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Andrés Roca Rey, a Peruvian matador, struggled to kill his second and final bull of the night with a sword.
    — James Wagner Luis Antonio Rojas, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024
  • Meanwhile, Williams brought matador vibes to the event in a custom powder-blue Balenciaga suit with a black cape and black trim details.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 5 May 2026
  • Only two of the nine Matadors who played in their win over Garden Grove on Friday are taller than 5-foot-11.
    — Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 23 Jan. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'matador.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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