fighter

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Soldiers & people who fight in wars
anti-guerrilla
Anzac
berserker
capability
cavalryman
citizen soldier
comrade
ex-serviceman
foot soldier
headhunter
paramilitary
raider
recruit
scout
shogun
skirmisher
soldier of fortune
unsoldierly
vassal
war party

Examples from literature

Some of the cowboys rushed into the corral and with shouts and cries endeavored to separate the combatants. 
The archers of the guard rushed in, as was their duty, and separated the remaining combatants. 
The new Commander-in-Chief on the Western front, and his new Chief of Staff, inspire confidence in all ranks, combatant and non-combatant. 
The victory was still undecided, though the combatants seemed to groan with each breath they drew. 
You proved by your words and conduct that you were not a combatant, and you are at liberty to depart when you please. 

combatant | American Dictionary

combatant
noun[ C ]
us/kəmˈbæt·ənt, ˈkɑm·bə·t̬ənt/
a person who fights in a war

Examples of combatant

combatant
The fight generally comes to a quick conclusion when one of the combatants adopts a submissive posture and flees.
As the morning drew on, the crowd grew to more than a thousand combatants.
Conventionally, the combatants were closely matched, in terms of usable options.
Not much commitment and sustained effort is devoted to the social and psychological reintegration of ex-child combatants, beyond an immediate preoccupation with disarmament and demobilisation.
The first wave of commemorative activities between 1916 and 1923 was characterized by the juxtaposition of the official version and the testimony of combatants.
The study closes with three moving case studies which represent the variety of women's war experience, as civilian supporters, armed militia, and frontline combatants.
It is a test of individual wills and strength of principle, from which the surviving combatants learn to appreciate the fleeting joy of human existence.
First, the vast majority of combatants were demobilised in an extremely brief period following the end of the war.
Below them were the standbys, mainly captives and conscripts, followed by the under-age combatants.
These women, it seems, were processed as combatants in recognition of their years feeding the guerrillas and tending camp (p. 9).
The presence of combatants in refugee camps raises a serious dilemma as to their eligibility for humanitarian assistance and protection.
Most of these ex-young combatants remain traumatised, alienated from family and society, and are still attracted to the culture of violence.
But the reality of war - the deprivation experienced by the combatants and the death of comrades - tempers the original allure of adventure.
Rather than explain and analyse, most journalists have instead focused upon the bizarre costumes and even more bizarre customs of the combatants.
This outcome was particularly noteworthy because the second contest involved a different rival male and was unsignalled for both combatants.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.