I. mar ‧ tyr 1 /ˈmɑːtə $ ˈmɑːrtər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 800-900 ; Language: Late Latin ; Origin: Greek martys 'witness' ]
1 . someone who dies for their religious or political beliefs and is admired by people for this:
St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr
martyr to
He was a martyr to the cause of racial harmony.
The army has been held back because the government is reluctant to make martyrs of the protesters.
2 . someone who tries hard to get other people’s sympathy by complaining about how hard their life is – used to show disapproval:
I think she rather relishes the role of martyr.
3 . be a martyr to something British English spoken to suffer a lot because of an illness, problem, or bad situation:
She’s a martyr to her arthritis.
II. martyr 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive]
if someone is martyred, they are killed because of their religious beliefs:
Becket was martyred in 1170.
be martyred for something
Catherine was martyred for her faith.