Definition of gladiator Gladiator

/glæˈdiejˌtɚ/ - [glatdeeeyter] - glad•i•a•tor

We found 11 definitions of gladiator from 7 different sources.

What does gladiator mean?

Noun Plural: gladiators
gladiator - (ancient Rome) a professional combatant or a captive who entertained the public by engaging in mortal combat
		battler, belligerent, combatant, scrapper, fighter someone who fights (or is fighting)
		capital of italy, eternal city, italian capital, roma, rome the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church
		antiquity an artifact surviving from the past
gladiator - a professional boxer
		prizefighter
		pugilist, boxer a breed of stocky medium-sized short-haired dog with a brindled coat and square-jawed muzzle developed in Germany
		featherweight weighs 126-139 pounds
		heavyweight
		cruiserweight, light heavyweight a wrestler who weighs 192-214 pounds
		lightweight a wrestler who weighs 139-154 pounds
		middleweight a wrestler who weighs 172-192 pounds
		welterweight a wrestler who weighs 154-172 pounds

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

gladiator (Noun)
In ancient Rome a person professional or slave who entertained the public by engaging in mortal combat with another, or with a wild animal.
gladiator (Noun)
A disputant in a public controversy or debate.
gladiator (Noun)
A professional boxer.

gladiator (n.)
Originally, a swordplayer; hence, one who fought with weapons in public, either on the occasion of a funeral ceremony, or in the arena, for public amusement.
gladiator (n.)
One who engages in any fierce combat or controversy.

gladiator
glad′i-ā-tor, n. in ancient Rome, a professional combatant with men or beasts in the arena.—adjs. Glad′iāte, sword-shaped; Gladiatō′rial, Gladiā′tory, Gladiatō′rian.—ns. Glad′iatorship; Glā′dius, the cuttle-bone or pen of a cuttle-fish. [L., a swordsman—gladius, a sword.]

Gladiators (Latin: "gladiatōrēs", "swordsmen" or "one who uses a sword," from "gladius", "sword") were professional fighters in ancient Rome, who fought against each other, wild animals, and sentenced criminals, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of the public. These fights took place in arenas in many cities from the Roman Republic period through the Roman Empire.

The word comes from "gladius", the Latin word for a short sword used by legionaries and some gladiators.