1. One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.
2. One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.
3. 1. One who endures great suffering: a martyr to arthritis.
   2. One who makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

1. To make a martyr of, especially to put to death for devotion to religious beliefs.
2. To inflict great pain on; torment.

[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Late Greek martur, from Greek martus, martur-, witness.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.