prizefighter

noun

prize·​fight·​er ˈprīz-ˌfī-tər 

plural prizefighters

: a professional boxer who competes in matches for money prizes

Grandpa James himself was a prizefighter in Tampa before moving to Key West during the Depression … . Five years ago he coldcocked a 33-year-old man with a left hook.

—Rick Telander

Synonyms

• boxer
• fighter

Examples of prizefighter in a Sentence

a prizefighter who is generally acknowledged to be one of the ring's most dangerous men

Recent Examples on the Web

Daniel Kinahan, a keen amateur boxer, has always been in thrall to prizefighters. —Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025

Most people participating in American warrior culture are not prizefighters, of course, and relatively few are veterans. —Dan Brooks, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025

Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson as Balrog Curtis Jackson, best known as 50 Cent, will play Balrog, the boxer initially modeled on real-life prizefighter Mike Tyson. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025

But on a tour on which Lamar stands as the equivalent of an undefeated prizefighter with no close suitors, a bold visionary taking hip-hop and dialect places seldom explored, the disconnect is too severe. —Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "person participating in a prize," from prise, price, prize "sporting contest usually between two opponents, as a fencing or wrestling match" (of uncertain origin) + fighter, after fight a prize "to enter into a duel or contest"; the initial element was later taken as prize entry 1

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for prizefighter

• copywriter
• expediter
• underwriter
• biter
• brighter
• fighter
• lighter
• miter
• niter
• reiter
• righter
• slighter