🐓 A fighting rooster 💪 A fierce fighter

gamecock

9.6

A person who fights hard and never gives up

noun
/ˈɡeɪmˌkɒk/

: luchador

Despite facing numerous setbacks, he remained a true gamecock, never backing down from a challenge.

Examples

"Better a gamecock than a plucked chicken," he grumbled.

Fiction book (1993)
You must actually be a Gamecock.

Blog text (30)
"He's a super Gamecock," Spurrier said.

Blog text (17)
In the heat of the competition, she displayed the heart of a gamecock, fighting fiercely until the very end.
Although the odds were stacked against him, his gamecock spirit pushed him to keep fighting for his dreams.

Synonyms

hell-rooster

vsgamecock

Offensive

9.9

A person who fights or argues in a very angry way

is more about determined bravery in hard situations than raw aggression

hell-kite

vsgamecock

Offensive

9.9

A fierce, violent person who fights without mercy

is modern and stresses courage under pressure rather than savage violence

Antonyms

coward

Offensive

584 2.3

A person who is too afraid to face danger or hard things

quitter

Offensive

42 3.2

A person who gives up easily and does not finish things

How Fierce

warrior

∞ 3.9

gamecock

9.6

fighter

682 2.8

brawler

8 6.2

scrapper

Informal

6 7.9

Surface Forms

gamecock singular

gamecocks plural

Morphology

gamecock = game + cock (opaque) = game + cock

From 'game' meaning brave or ready to fight and 'cock', the literal sense of a fighting rooster is fairly inferable, though many learners may not know this adjective sense of 'game'.

Etymology

Gamecock is also used for a person and comes from the fighting rooster: game 'sport' or 'brave' and cock 'rooster'. So calling someone a gamecock means they are a fierce, brave fighter who does not give up.