: a bullfighter who has the principal role and who kills the bull in a bullfight
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe scarf is used much as a matador wields a cape to lure a bull before the climactic moment in the song, which ends with the dancers pretending to kiss. Fernanda Pérez Sánchez, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2022 Two harlequins flank the theater, while the building’s rear is decorated with a dazzling row of movie-character types, including a matador, a hula girl and a flamenco dancer.New York Times, 20 May 2022 Even before marrying Manolete’s father, she was widowed by a different matador husband.New York Times, 3 May 2022 The transitions from light to dark in the matador’s face and stockings, for instance, is abrupt to the point of coarseness.Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2022 The matador seemed to be allowing for a beat of anticipation before the kill.New York Times, 3 May 2022 Observe the sash, stretched and pleated across the matador’s waist.Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2022 Tevaughn Campbell did a Hemingwayian matador whiff.San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Dec. 2021 Leibovitz had planned to shoot Penélope Cruz and Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez, the great-grandson of the famous matador who’d inspired the character of the bullfighter in the Hemingway novel.New York Times, 4 Nov. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Spanish, from matar to kill
First Known Use
1681, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
matador
noun
mat·a·dor ˈma-tə-ˌdȯr
: a bullfighter who plays the most important human part in a bullfight