public defender

American  

noun

• public defenders
  plural

1. a lawyer appointed or elected by a city or county as a full-time, official defender to represent indigents in criminal cases at public expense.

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public defender British  

noun

1. (in the US) a lawyer engaged at public expense to represent indigent defendants

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public defender Cultural  

1. An attorney who is appointed and paid by a court to defend poor persons who cannot afford a lawyer.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• public defenders
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of public defender

First recorded in 1915–20

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public defender

I think every role that I play has a little bit of me in it, and I basically play Kenny Boy if he became a public defender.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Her appointment fills one of the White House's most visible positions, with the press secretary responsible for briefing journalists, fielding questions about administration policies and serving as a chief public defender of the president.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

In a statement, deputy public defender Walid Kandeel said Burke "is entitled to a defense that takes his circumstances seriously and carefully examines the evidence".

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Look, Judge Freeman was a federal public defender for 13 years.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Michael had stayed long past the two years he had committed to us, but he was now scheduled to move to San Diego to start a job as a federal public defender.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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