fighter

From Middle English fightere, fyghtor, feghtere, feghtare, fiȝtare, fiȝtere, from Old English feohtere. Equivalent to fight +‎ -er.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfaɪ.tə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfaɪtɚ/, [ˈfaɪ̯ɾɚ]
• Rhymes: -aɪtə(r)

fighter (plural fighters)

1. A person who fights; a combatant.
2. A warrior; fighting soldier.
3. A pugnacious, competitive person.
4. (eulogistic) A person with a strong determination to resist protracted or severe adversity, especially illness.
5. A class of fixed-wing aircraft whose primary purpose is that of shooting down other aircraft. Some of these (Fighter-Attack or Attack aircraft) also have a secondary purpose of attacking ground targets.
6. A boxer or participant in any martial art.
7. (colloquial) A firefighter
8. (video games) A game with a focus on physical combat.
   • 2004, Simon Carless, Gaming Hacks, page 59:

     Still, it's excellent software, especially for one-on-one fighting titles such as the King Of Fighters series, classic Street Fighter II variants, and newer one-on-one fighters such as Garou.

• warrior, combatant, soldier

• cage fighter
• freedom fighter
• prizefighter
• (aircraft): fighter-bomber, fighter-interceptor, fighter plane, foo fighter, fighter jet, stealth fighter, strike fighter

• combatant

• freight, refight