crusader
Americannoun
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Often Crusader a participant in any of the crusades or military expeditions undertaken with papal sanction by the Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries in an effort to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims.
Orders of monks who were also knights became the "storm troops" of the Christian crusaders.
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a participant in any vigorous movement for the defense or advancement of an idea, cause, etc..
Nepal's most prominent crusader for equal rights for sexual minorities was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of crusader
Explanation
A crusader is a person who works hard or campaigns forcefully for a cause. Most crusaders advocate dramatic social or political change. You can call a fierce champion for a cancer cure a crusader, and another kind of crusader could be an activist who works for school reform. Crusaders tend to be radical or at least progressive, embracing some kind of change. Crusader comes from crusade, which meant "campaign against a public evil" in the 18th century, but which earlier referred mainly to the religious-based military Crusades of the Middle Ages.
Vocabulary lists containing crusader
Crash
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Matilda
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The Door in the Wall
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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.
The military’s new push includes capturing Beaufort Castle, a nearly 900-year-old elevated Crusader fortress that sits around 9 miles from Israel, across the Litani River that roughly defines the border region of southern Lebanon.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
But while these two groups’ specific aims may seem mutually incompatible, both share a love of Crusader imagery and ideas.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2026
The Caped Crusader took to the mic during the public comments section of Santa Clara city's council meeting on Tuesday.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
The star of ABC’s swinging and silly 1960s “Batman” series – which celebrated its 60th anniversary earlier this month – played the Caped Crusader with deadly seriousness.
From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026
He knew the Green Lantern oath by heart, for instance, and understood Batman’s inner life better than the Caped Crusader himself.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
