combatant

noun

com·​bat·​ant kəm-ˈba-tᵊnt 

also ˈkäm-bə-tənt

: one that is engaged in or ready to engage in combat

combatant adjective

Examples of combatant in a Sentence

Britain was a main combatant in World War II.

Recent Examples on the Web

The two combatants spent tens of millions on the race, particularly on numerous commercials on local television stations and cable networks. — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026

The two combatants are male eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) competing for dominance. — Margherita Bassi, Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2026

In Gaza, the war has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to the local Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. — Lior Soroka, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2026

This is far larger than any other class of surface combatant in China’s navy, as per the report. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for combatant

• noncombatant
• supernatant
• patent

Kids Definition

combatant

noun

com·​bat·​ant kəm-ˈbat-ᵊnt 

also ˈkäm-bət-

: one that is engaged in or ready to engage in combat

combatant adjective