Difference between a toreador and a matador

They're not necessarily the same thing, in fact.

It is possible to go through the whole act of leading and teasing the bull without killing it. All those fancy moves with the cape, getting the bull to charge and move about the bullfighter without getting harmed is what is called "torear".

The Torero becomes a "Matador" when he kills the bull; the final act when he pulls a sabre and plunges it into the bulls's heart. It should be a highly skilled move, that kills the bull instantly - thus it is considered an art in itself.

The reason the word is used interchangeably is that for the most part, the professional event nearly always ends with the killing of the bull. But if the bullfighter never kills the bull (as his regular practice), he's just a Torero.

They can be used interchangeably talking about bulls, but matador also means "killer", which is actually what a torero does with a bull.

Alex Trebec says that "matador" is the preferred term. Is he right?

I thought they killed the bull with the sword at the poll, just at the base of the skull. They do it in the heart? I don't want to mess with anyone's culture but I don't think I'd go to see a bullfight.

What is really interesting is the way that DRAE defines the two terms

"torero"."matador" The results are surprising.

In Spain is more used "torero".

I thought they killed the bull with the sword at the poll, just at the base of the skull. They do it in the heart?

No the sword (when done well) is inserted between the shoulders at a sharp downward angle and pierces the heart. When done badly, the usual problem is that the sword enters at an angle and pierces the left lung (because the matador has not gone in over the horns but has stayed too far to the bull's right side). In which case the lung fills with blood and the bull usually chokes on his own blood (but that can take several minutes).

In the case of a bad kill (where the bull takes a while to die), I "puñal" (dagger) is inserted at the base of the skull to deliver the "coup de grace".

I've never seen it kill the bull instantly, it always seems to be a slow death running around with swords in your back.

I've seen bulls drop like a stone but, as suggested above, that requires considerable skill and risk-taking.