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

Defense attorney William Sulton attempted to illustrate for jurors that his client was acting to defend one of the combatants, who had become outnumbered during the fight. —Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 9 Dec. 2025

Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 9 Dec. 2025

Democrats insisted the survivors were helpless and should have been rescued to comply with international laws that call for either sides in a conflict to help combatants who fall overboard or are shipwrecked. —Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 8 Dec. 2025

Authorities have not disclosed the identities of any of the, um, combatants. —Frederick Dreier, Outside, 6 Dec. 2025

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