cheerleader
Americannoun
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cheerleaders
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
“Dorothy’s been my biggest cheerleader the entire time,” Tiedemann says of Bandier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Panettiere’s high school hero emerged on TV during the “sheroes” era of the aughts, arriving in the wake of Sydney Bristow on “Alias” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” another cheerleader turned supernatural brawler.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
During “Heroes’” white-hot initial season in 2006, she was the star of the year’s biggest tagline: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Panettiere’s star rose exponentially, however, in 2006 when she debuted as indestructible Texas cheerleader Claire Bennet in “Heroes,” which quickly became a massive hit for its network NBC.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Now Paul and the other witnesses were convinced that Kelli had been a crazy, firebomb-throwing cheerleader, while I had simply been an innocent bystander who’d panicked and ran from the scene.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
There were fewer band members and cheerleaders than normal, and the crowd was not as loud as during ASU home games – they averaged 54,000 last season.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
As a result, America’s financial institutions, with the exception of a few major skeptics, have found themselves as AI’s biggest cheerleaders in a capacity that extends beyond IPO road shows.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Soon after, the cheerleaders for the 1976 championship basketball team came out to perform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
But, Powell says, new cheerleaders need to be coming in for the right reasons.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Celia sat among the cheerleaders, like a hyena in front of a bloody haunch of meat.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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.
