crusader

noun

cru·​sad·​er krü-ˈsā-dər 

plural crusaders

: one who engages in a crusade: such as

a

Crusader : a person who participated in any of the military expeditions undertaken by Christian powers in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to win the Holy Land from the Muslims

This is religion as the Crusaders knew it: a battle to the death for souls that if not saved will be forever lost.

—Benjamin R. Barber

Cleanliness improved during the Middle Ages—particularly after the Crusaders imported the Turkish bath.

—Winifred Gallagher

Then the church was looted by the Christian crusaders from the West, who converted it for fifty-seven years to the Roman Catholic ritual.

—Mario Salvadori

b

: a person who makes an impassioned and sustained effort to bring about social or political change

human rights crusaders

an anti-government crusader

Black women lawyers early on were in the forefront of the civil rights struggle. Many women attorneys were crusaders for the poor and needy …

—Rita E. Hauser

Synonyms of crusader

• partisan
• militant
• activist
• zealot
• advocate

Examples of crusader in a Sentence

a crusader for improved safety in coal mines

Recent Examples on the Web

Andrew Sweetman, the Scottish marine biogeochemist who led the work, hadn’t made such claims, but he was still pilloried by fellow-scientists, and proponents of mining accused him of being an anti-mining crusader. — James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026

But his wildly unfiltered speech grabs the attention of beautiful and brash public defender Ginger (Gilpin), herself a crusader for truth. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2026

Gordon is written as a kind of crusader, one who seems doomed to be alone after his relationship with his ex-fiancée falls apart. — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 24 July 2026

The division is led by Harmeet Dhillon, a Californian and a conservative legal crusader, who made her name bringing legal challenges against many of the state’s institutions and once served as the chair of the San Francisco Republican Party. — Ben Wieder, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1701, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for crusader

• invader
• persuader
• aider
• fader
• grader
• nadir
• raider
• schrader
• seder
• shader
• trader