gladiator
noun
glad·i·a·tor
ˈgla-dē-ˌā-tər 
1
: a person engaged in a fight to the death as public entertainment for ancient Romans
2
: a person engaging in a public fight or controversy
3
: a trained fighter
especially
: a professional boxer
Examples of gladiator in a Sentence
the two punch-drunk gladiators stumbled to their corners
Recent Examples on the Web
Colorado students deserve better than what Valor and other high schools lost to the gladiator ethos are serving up at the moment.
—
The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 15 May 2025
Popular depictions of Roman gladiators in combat invariably include battling not just human adversaries but wild animals.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2025
The bite marks seem to confirm that the skeletons buried at the cemetery were gladiators — and not soldiers or slaves, as previously thought, according to Malin Holst, lecturer in osteoarchaeology at the University of York’s Department of Archaeology.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
Images of these spectacles survive to the present-day, but no direct links have supported human-animal gladiator matches in Roman Britain.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gladiator
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The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 15 May 2025
Popular depictions of Roman gladiators in combat invariably include battling not just human adversaries but wild animals.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2025
The bite marks seem to confirm that the skeletons buried at the cemetery were gladiators — and not soldiers or slaves, as previously thought, according to Malin Holst, lecturer in osteoarchaeology at the University of York’s Department of Archaeology.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
Images of these spectacles survive to the present-day, but no direct links have supported human-animal gladiator matches in Roman Britain.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gladiator
Cite this Entry
“Gladiator.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gladiator. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gladiator
noun
glad·i·a·tor
ˈglad-ē-ˌāt-ər
1
: a person engaged in a fight to the death for public entertainment in ancient Rome
2
: a person engaging in a fierce fight or controversy
Etymology
from Latin gladiator, literally, "swordsman," from gladius "sword" — related to gladiolus
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