prizefighter

noun

prize·​fight·​er ˈprīz-ˌfī-tər 

plural prizefighters

: a professional boxer who competes in matches for money prizes

Grandpa James himself was a prizefighter in Tampa before moving to Key West during the Depression … . Five years ago he coldcocked a 33-year-old man with a left hook.

—Rick Telander

Synonyms

• boxer
• fighter
• gladiator
• pug
• pugilist

Examples of prizefighter in a Sentence

a prizefighter who is generally acknowledged to be one of the ring's most dangerous men

Recent Examples on the Web

And then New York ended the series an evening later, on a tenth-inning homer by Soto, whose numerous baseball talents include a prizefighter’s swaggering eagerness to shuffle and then pounce. —Nicholas Dawidoff, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2024

Nowhere is that bond stronger than with hip-hop, with prizefighters walking out to the ring with their favorite artists, rap verses referencing greats of the sport, and boxers dropping albums of their own. —Justin Koreis, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2024

The pair got carried away in their conversation and forgot about the heavyweight prizefighter standing with them. —Mark Dent, thehustle.co, 12 July 2024

Rappers and prizefighters are two sides of the same coin, willing to stand toe-to-toe with an opponent, battling from the bottom to the top, and finding inspiration from larger-than-life figures. —Justin Koreis, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "person participating in a prize," from prise, price, prize "sporting contest usually between two opponents, as a fencing or wrestling match" (of uncertain origin) + fighter, after fight a prize "to enter into a duel or contest"; the initial element was later taken as prize entry 1

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above