defender

[ dih-fen-der ]
See synonyms for defender on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who defends someone or something from attack, assault, or injury: We commemorate the brave defenders of this fort.

  2. Law. an attorney for a defendant, especially a public defender: the systemwide benefits of effective defenders.

  1. a person who supports an argument, theory, thesis, etc., in the face of criticism or challenging questions: defenders of gay rights.

  2. Sports.

    • a team player whose assigned role is to prevent the other team from scoring: On the court, he’s an exceptional defender and a natural leader.

    • a contestant or team that attempts to retain a championship title, rank, etc., in a competition against a challenger: Her main rival is the young title defender from Italy.

Origin of defender

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; defend + -er2

Words Nearby defender

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use defender in a sentence