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
Paramount Skydance, which is pursuing its own hostile bid for WBD, is backed by Oracle, one of the main combatants in the global AI race.
—
Dade Hayes, Deadline, 4 Jan. 2026
The rapid reconfiguration suggests the ship has shifted roles in a matter of days, from an arsenal-style surface combatant to what appears to be a multi-role drone carrier, The War Zone reported.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 2 Jan. 2026
The Navy's Zumwalt‑class destroyers — the largest surface combatants currently at 15,000 tons — were reduced from 32 to three ships due to spiraling costs.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
Israel’s military response has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to PBS News which cited Gaza’s Health Ministry — the figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
—Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 24 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combatant
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Dade Hayes, Deadline, 4 Jan. 2026
The rapid reconfiguration suggests the ship has shifted roles in a matter of days, from an arsenal-style surface combatant to what appears to be a multi-role drone carrier, The War Zone reported.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 2 Jan. 2026
The Navy's Zumwalt‑class destroyers — the largest surface combatants currently at 15,000 tons — were reduced from 32 to three ships due to spiraling costs.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
Israel’s military response has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to PBS News which cited Gaza’s Health Ministry — the figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
—Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 24 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combatant
Cite this Entry
“Combatant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/combatant. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
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combatant
noun
com·bat·ant
kəm-ˈbat-ᵊnt
also ˈkäm-bət-
: one that is engaged in or ready to engage in combat
combatant
adjective
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