patriot
noun
a person who loves, supports, and defends their country and its interests with devotion.
patriot
American
[pey-tree-uht, -ot, pa-tree-uht]
/ ˈpeɪ tri ət, -ˌɒt, ˈpæ tri ət /
noun
-
patriots
plural
-
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.
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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.
Patriot
1
British
/ ˈpeɪtrɪət /
noun
patriot
2
British
/ ˈpeɪtrɪət, ˌpætrɪˈɒtɪk, ˈpæt- /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
How does patriot compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
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.”
Vocabulary lists containing patriot
Memorial Day Words
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Name On: Pro Sports Team Names, Part 1
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Not Your Father's Word List: Pater, Patr
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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.
See Examples For:
Decisions like this inevitably lead to questions about patriotism, and what it means to be an American patriot in this time of great crisis.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
The White House reshared the images on its own X account, dubbing the new document a "patriot passport".
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Through it all, while reflecting as an old man on “the hardships of the ‘tented field,’” Martin remains a proud patriot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
"Everyone chooses their own path, according to their interests," he said, calling himself a "patriot".
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Wintergreen accepted his role of digging and filling up holes with all the uncomplaining dedication of a true patriot.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
It’s all part of his “simple approach” to life, as exemplified in his so-called Patriot Games, conducted on Tuesday.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Only the most advanced air defence, such as the US-made Patriot system, is capable of intercepting them.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
German media reports that the base has a storage facility for equipment and spare parts used to maintain the Patriot missile batteries.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The U.S.-Iran war has compounded a global shortage of Patriot interceptors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The threat of rebellion spread as the Liberty Boys and other Patriot groups gained followers.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Willing remained on good terms, and profitably in business, with both the British and the patriots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
“This is being made as a gift from me and other people that are great patriots and spent a lot of money. We are building what will be the finest ballroom anywhere in the world.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
They include rabid Ukrainian patriots, political agnostics and diehard Russophiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
"The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776, were the heirs to this majestic inheritance," Trump said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
But, eventually, they permitted me to stay, and I discovered the great African patriots who fought against Western domination.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
