patriot
Americannoun
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a person who loves, supports, and defends their country and its interests with devotion.
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a person who values individual rights, especially one who attempts to defend those rights against presumed interference by the federal government.
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Military. Patriot, a U.S. Army antiaircraft missile with a range of 37 miles (60 kilometers) and a 200-pound (90-kilogram) warhead, launched from a tracked vehicle with radar and computer guidance and fire control.
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
- antipatriot noun
- patriotic adjective
- patriotically adverb
- semipatriot noun
Etymology
Origin of patriot
First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French patriote, from Late Latin patriōta, from Greek patriṓtēs “fellow-countryman, lineage member (in the paternal line)”
Compare meaning
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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.
"He was a professional officer who put national interests first and a patriot who loved his country," the mission added.
From Barron's
Mr. Hunter writes with the heart of a poet, the erudition of a good critic and the idealism of an old-fashioned patriot.
He called Reiner “a great patriot” with whom he shared a mutual respect despite myriad political disagreements.
From Los Angeles Times
Dr. King was an American patriot who was martyred for trying to bend the arc of the moral universe to justice.
From Salon
Defiant, emotional and life-affirming, the film presents us with endearing patriots who love their country but hate its leaders, sucking us into a riveting tale with a powerful undertow.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
