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# gladiator

«gladiator» in Mova's school dictionary: **A gladiator was a man in ancient Rome who fought other…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a gladiator, gladiators)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A gladiator was a man in ancient Rome who fought other men or wild animals in an arena to entertain crowds, often with swords, nets or tridents. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#m1)

2) A gladiator can mean someone who fights hard in a contest or argument (figurative). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In history lessons on the Romans, gladiators fought in amphitheatres such as the Colosseum; many were slaves, prisoners or criminals, though some became famous. Pupils discuss why crowds enjoyed such cruel games and how attitudes have changed. Phrases: «gladiator fight», «gladiator school», «in the arena».

### examples

- The gladiator fought a lion in the Colosseum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#x1)
- Many gladiators were slaves. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#x2)
- Gladiators trained at special schools. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#x3)
- Some gladiators used a net and a trident. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#x4)
- The crowd cheered as the gladiators entered the arena. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#x5)
- We made gladiator helmets out of card. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/#x6)

### note

Countable. Pronounced GLAD-ee-ay-tur. Myth trap: the thumbs-up or thumbs-down signal for life or death is not certain; historians are not sure which gesture meant what.

### In the corpora

- [For fun, crowds cheered chariot teams at the Circus Maximus, like football fans, and watched gladiators in the Colosseum.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/15-rome-daily-life-gladiators-latin-and-christianity/4/)
- [Not every gladiator fight ended in death, and the thumbs-up or thumbs-down sign may be a modern guess.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/15-rome-daily-life-gladiators-latin-and-christianity/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «gladiator» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gladiator/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.