matador

noun

mat·​a·​dor ˈma-tə-ˌdȯr 

: a bullfighter who has the principal role and who kills the bull in a bullfight

Examples of matador in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Mexico City Reuters — Mexico City’s local congress on Tuesday passed a measure aiming to make bullfights much less harmful to bulls and matadors, a move applauded by animal rights activists but sharply criticized by fans of the centuries-old tradition. —Reuters, CNN, 19 Mar. 2025

Outside sent Susan Orlean to Spain to meet with a female matador, and Don Katz to Yorkshire to profile a man who held the world record for keeping a ferret in his pants the longest. —Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025

Others represent internal dialogue imagined between a bull and a matador. —Christopher Blay, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019

Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from matar to kill

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for matador

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• blastopore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore

Kids Definition

matador

noun

mat·​a·​dor ˈmat-ə-ˌdȯ(ə)r 

: the bullfighter who plays the major human part in a bullfight

Etymology

Spanish, literally "killer"