Matador
name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The person whose aim is to kill the bull in a bullfight.
"[…] few of these boys know how to fight alone, and hardly any without a knife or a gun. They are not to be equated with matadors or boxers or Hemingway heroes. They are dangerous pack hounds who will not even expose themselves singly in the outfield."
- 2 the principal bullfighter who is appointed to make the final passes and kill the bull wordnet
- 3 A certain game of dominoes in which four dominoes (the 4-3, 5-2, 6-1, and double blank), called matadors, may be played at any time in any way. uncountable
- 4 The jack of clubs, or any other trump held in sequence with it, in the game of skat.
- 5 One of the three chief cards in ombre and quadrille.
- 1 A town, the county seat of Motley County, Texas, United States.
Example
More examples"[…] few of these boys know how to fight alone, and hardly any without a knife or a gun. They are not to be equated with matadors or boxers or Hemingway heroes. They are dangerous pack hounds who will not even expose themselves singly in the outfield."
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish matador (“killer”). Used in the English language as title for a bullfighter, however referred to as a torero in Spain.
Named after the Matador Ranch.
Related phrases
More for "matador"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.