a person who loves, supports, and defends their country and its interests with devotion.
a person who values individual rights, especially one who attempts to defend those rights against presumed interference by the federal government.
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.
First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French patriote, from Late Latin patriōta, from Greek patriṓtēs “fellow-countryman, lineage member (in the paternal line)”
How does patriot compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
A patriot is someone who loves and who has sometimes fought for his or her country. “Nathan Hale was a true patriot; his only regret was that he had but one life to give for his country.” The word patriot comes from patrios (Greek, not Latin for once), which means "of one’s father." So, despite various references to the motherland, the word patriot more or less lands us square in the fatherland arena. And if you’re a football fan, the New England Patriots is a near-Boston-based team (Boston being a major source of American patriots in the Revolutionary War). And, if you want to get yourself in trouble, you can wander Boston with a megaphone chanting, “The Patriots stink.”
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the Battle of Ayacucho in Peru that December, Miller commanded the patriot cavalry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
"Everyone chooses their own path, according to their interests," he said, calling himself a "patriot".
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
"He didn't want to, but he had do it. He was a patriot," Natalia explains, through her tears.
From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026
At a time when even the largest American newspapers rarely had circulations exceeding 2,000, over 100,000 copies of “Common Sense” flew from patriot presses by mid-April and reached some 500,000 by 1778.
From Salon • Jan. 10, 2026
George Blake had entered adulthood as a warrior against Nazism and emerged from World War II an English soldier and patriot.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
