fighters

noun

plural of fighter
1
as in soldiers
a person engaged in military service the debate whether more fighters are needed to bring order to that war-torn country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in boxers
one that engages in the sport of fighting with the fists a program at the community center for training local youths as fighters

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in defendants
a person who takes part in a dispute kept the two fighters apart until they had calmed down and could talk sensibly

Synonyms & Similar 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 fighters Tankers help fighters and bombers fly farther. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 23 June 2026 The other fighters and coaches celebrate his successes, said the gym owner, Roger Krahl. — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026 So far the Lebanese military has been unable to force Hezbollah to disarm or withdraw its fighters from southern Lebanon. — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 29 June 2026 Some of the young fighters and their coach spoke with CBS News Chicago about the impact the program has inside and outside the ring. — Victor Jacobo, CBS News, 24 June 2026 In May, the West African country said its joint operation with the United States had killed 175 ISWAP fighters. — ABC News, 30 June 2026 Though Hezbollah has largely been more effective this year than in the 2024 conflict, the recent fighting in Lebanon was just as imbalanced as two years ago, with thousands of Hezbollah fighters being killed at the cost of a few dozen Israeli military troops. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2026 Security forces carried out a ground operation along the border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said. — Abdul Qahar Afghan, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 Just like the innovative application of Ukrainian UAVs, the western fourth generation F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighters are a capability far exceeding traditional Soviet airborne artillery doctrine. — David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fighters
  1. soldiers
  2. boxers
  3. defendants
  4. warriors
  5. gladiators
  6. plaintiffs
  7. brawlers
  8. debaters
Noun
  • The remains of two Army soldiers who went missing while off duty from military exercises in Morocco were recovered in May, according to the Army.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • The soldiers went missing on May 2 near the Cap Draa Training Area near the city of Tan Tan in southwestern Morocco, USA TODAY previously reported.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 30 June 2026
Definition of soldiers
Noun
  • Also seen on the runway was the unisex Ugg x Willy Chavarria Guard Boot was styled with layered silk boxers and an oversized bomber jacket and the Ugg x Willy Chavarria Hotel Slipper with both models sporting that same layered look on top, mesh or long shorts on bottom, and tall white calf socks.
    — Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 27 June 2026
  • The events give youth amateur boxers from the city's 22 boxing gyms a chance to show their skills in a competitive atmosphere.
    — Victor Jacobo, CBS News, 24 June 2026
Definition of boxers
Noun
  • His girlfriend, Syanna Ruiz, held their child in court, demanding the defendants remain behind bars.
    — Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 2 July 2026
  • In court documents, O’Hara alleged the defendants violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights, accusing them of unlawfully restricting free speech and initiating an unlawful seizure while using excessive force.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of defendants
Noun
  • And perhaps the most famous statues in that distinctive style that Latchford stole from Koh Ker were nine stone warriors once arranged together in a battle scene.
    — Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 28 June 2026
  • Uzbek fans have reveled in the chance to showcase their country and culture, staying behind long after the matches ended to pose for photos as steppe warriors, give away the country's ubiquitous embroidered duppy skullcaps, or just joyously dance to drums.
    — Charles Maynes, NPR, 27 June 2026
Definition of warriors
Noun
  • Protected by the masks, the gladiators assume a secret identity and become national symbols.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
  • Roman emperors used gladiators to do just that.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 17 June 2026
Definition of gladiators
Noun
  • In April, after another trial, a jury in Chicago ordered Abbott to pay four plaintiffs a total of $70 million.
    — David Hilzenrath, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • The upshot is that plaintiffs can’t sue the biotech company for not putting a cancer warning on the label of Roundup, the popular weed killer.
    — Zachary Karabell, Washington Post, 1 July 2026
Definition of plaintiffs
Noun
  • The episodes saw 12 brawlers face off in teams led by Flay, Maneet Chauhan and Antonia Lofaso, aiming to win over judges Williamson, Carson Kressley and Rodney Scott.
    — Erin Clements, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Displacing the ’90s boom bap and aughts brawlers of her last album is a streak of assiduous ’80s R&B exercises that foreground her gains as a vocalist more often than her gobstopping wordplay as a rapper.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Definition of brawlers
Noun
  • Habitual debaters often blur these distinctions.
    — Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
  • High school debaters are much more polite and reasonable, even compared to presidential candidates, the group’s president, Walt Breitinger, observed.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
Definition of debaters

Browse Nearby Words

fighter
fighters
fighting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fighters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fighters. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on fighters

Nglish: Translation of fighters for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
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
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All