matador \MAT-uh-dawr\, noun:
1. the principal bullfighter in a bullfight who passes the bull with a muleta and then, in many countries, kills it with a sword thrust; a torero.
2. one of the principal cards in skat and certain other games.
3. (initial capital letter) a jet-powered U.S. surface-to-surface missile.
He watched with disgust as the matador called to the bull. With a flamboyant flourish, the matador took over.
-- Tess Uriza Holthe, "The Five-Forty-Five to Cannes," 2007
The matador who was ill was careful never to show it and was meticulous about eating a little of all the dishes that were presented at the table.
-- Ernest Hemingway, "The Capital of the World," The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories, 1936
...the matador moved closer and now the animal bunched tired legs to run but one leg slipped throwing up a cloud of dust.
-- Jack Kerouac, "Lonesome Traveller," 1960
Matador entered English in 1600s directly from the Spanish matar meaning "to kill or wound."
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