cheerleader
Americannoun
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a person who leads spectators in cheering, usually a member of a team that performs dance, acrobatic, and tumbling routines at sporting events or in competitions with other teams.
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a person who encourages and openly supports the success of a person or cause.
Her dad has always been her biggest cheerleader.
He emerged as a cheerleader for the rights of the incarcerated.
noun
Etymology
Origin of cheerleader
Explanation
A cheerleader is a member of a team that performs synchronized cheers and dance routines, usually from the sidelines of a game. The best cheerleaders are extremely strong and flexible, with a great sense of rhythm. The main job of a cheerleader is to rally a sports team to victory, although many cheerleaders also perform complex acrobatic routines. The traditional uniform that a cheerleader wears includes a short skirt or shorts. In the late 19th century, cheerleaders were simply college students in the stands who called out school cheers in unison. By the 1890s, official cheerleading squads were formed, originally including only men — no women or girls were cheerleaders until 1923.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the October 3, 2025, print edition as 'Carney Turns Fossil-Fuel Cheerleader'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025
Pi Cheerleader: “3 point 1-4-1-5-9! Look at the scoreboard — who’s behind?”
From Washington Post • Nov. 3, 2022
Ms. Simon’s credits also included composing the music for a wild 1993 HBO movie, “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom,” which won Emmy Awards for Holly Hunter and Beau Bridges.
From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2022
Imagine Me & You," "Saving Face" and "But I'm a Cheerleader — and it's been far too long.
From Salon • Dec. 13, 2020
We pass Raven Cheerleader and Amber Cheerleader on the way to my bus.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
