combatant

noun

Definition of combatantnext
as in soldier
a person, group, or country that fights in a war or battle Britain was a major combatant in World War II.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of combatant The New Orleans Saints (1-2) and the Atlanta Falcons (1-2) — two NFC South combatants — meet on Monday, October 5, 2026 at Caesars Superdome. — Data Skrive, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2026 Akhtar the author, though, is conducting a stealthy psyop aimed at detonating the certainties of combatants on both sides. — Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026 Major combatants The three major belligerents in the Rhodesian Bush War were the Rhodesian security forces, ZANLA, and ZIPRA. — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026 The main combatants are Ethiopian federal troops and fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF, an armed political group in Tigray, Ethiopia's northernmost regional state. — Samuel Getachew, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for combatant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combatant
  1. soldier
  2. fighter
  3. warrior
  4. trooper
Noun
  • The murder of two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank is the jumping-off point for a large-scale invasion of the Palestinian territory, a move that would further test the nation’s fraying relationship with the United States.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 24 Oct. 2026
  • In April, a US Army soldier was arrested and charged with using confidential information to make $410,000 in Polymarket bets on the timing of the military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of soldier
Noun
  • The report also raises the possibility that foreign fighters currently in Syria, including Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Tajiks and other nationalities, could be transferred to Yemen.
    — Khaled Wassef, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The plane's crew consisted of a fighter pilot and a weapons systems officer from the French Air and Space Force.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of fighter
Noun
  • The research team intends to test other pits containing terracotta warriors and build a larger reference set of prints from ancient Chinese populations.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Since then, numerous instructors have found ways to use a chair for adapted versions of a surprising number of traditional yoga movements, like lunging warrior poses and standing-to-lying sun salutations.
    — Jennifer Heimlich, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of warrior
Noun
  • Utah Highway Patrol troopers were called to the spot of the three-car crash, where traffic was slowing due to ongoing construction, the court documents said.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The investigating trooper reported the weather was clear and the road dry at the time of the crash.
    — Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of trooper

Browse Nearby Words

combat
combatant
combatants
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Combatant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combatant. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All