champion

noun

cham·pi·on | \ ˈcham-pē-ən

Definition of champion

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : warrior, fighter a champion of his king

2 : a militant advocate or defender a champion of civil rights

3 : one that does battle for another's rights or honor God will raise me up a champion— Sir Walter Scott

4 : a winner of first prize or first place in competition a tennis champion also : one who shows marked superiority a champion at selling

champion

verb

championed; championing; champions

Definition of champion (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 archaic : challenge, defy

2 : to protect or fight for as a champion championed the ladies chivalrously in the tilts

3 : to act as militant supporter of : uphold, advocate always champions the cause of the underdog

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about champion

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Choose the Right Synonym for champion

Verb

support, uphold, advocate, back, champion mean to favor actively one that meets opposition. support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given. supports waterfront development uphold implies extended support given to something attacked. upheld the legitimacy of the military action advocate stresses urging or pleading. advocated prison reform back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling. refusing to back the call for sanctions champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause. championed the rights of children

Examples of champion in a Sentence

Noun

the heavyweight boxing champion of the world Our team will play the defending champions next week. the newly crowned national champions He was a champion for the working classes.

Verb

She is a lawyer who champions children's rights. Our senator championed the idea of lowering taxes.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Google has been a champion of the open web since its inception and has continued to work with others in the ecosystem to make the web faster, safer, more capable, and more interoperable. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to," 17 Dec. 2018 Why target Pelosi, who has always been a climate champion? — David Roberts, Vox, "Climate activists to Nancy Pelosi: go big or we won’t go home," 14 Nov. 2018 ProtonVPN comes awfully close but doesn’t quite beat our current speed champion, HotSpot Shield. — Ian Paul, PCWorld, "ProtonVPN review: Underground data centers, one-click multi-hop, and more make for a great choice," 4 Sep. 2018 Grand champion: Pulled pork, pork ribs, pork loin, pork sausage. — Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, "52 Weeks of BBQ: Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que," 13 July 2018 Get our daily newsletter The Dutch are already the world’s cycling champions, with an estimated 1.3 bicycles per person. — The Economist, "The Dutch underground bicycle-park arms race," 12 July 2018 Among the entrants are last year's champions, Jennifer Valente and Justin Williams. — Dave Southorn, idahostatesman, "A brand-new event, and one of Boise's annual traditions. A big cycling weekend is on tap.," 10 July 2018 In addition to being a Walt Whitman grand champion, Lewis' poem was also one of 12 pieces out of 300 submitted in the state to be read at the ASAP! — Michael Walsh, Courant Community, "Teen Earns National Poetry Honors," 9 July 2018 But this is somebody who was a world champion compared to a young player who has lots of ability and qualities. — Kevin Baxter, latimes.com, "Messi, Ronaldo are gone from Russia, but have they left World Cup play for good?," 1 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Johnson’s case had been championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, who personally lobbied Trump in the Oval Office. — Darlene Superville, The Seattle Times, "Trump guests include freed drug offender, bullied student," 5 Feb. 2019 For the past five years, the LVMH Prize has championed young designers and graduates from around the world. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Want to Make It in Fashion? The LVMH Prize Is Now Accepting 2019 Applications," 18 Dec. 2018 Some of the state-level laws, like voter ID and gerrymandering, are openly championed by national Republican leaders and conservative activists. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "The Republican Party versus democracy," 17 Dec. 2018 This strategy, born of Washington politics, was championed by Schrage, Sandberg, and policy chief Joel Kaplan. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "How Mark Zuckerberg became a wartime CEO," 20 Nov. 2018 Similarly, in simply running for office, Erika Harold has championed a more traditional kind of diversity within the GOP. — Rebecca Nelson, Marie Claire, "Party Crashers: These Female Candidates Are Shaking Up The Midterms," 2 Nov. 2018 Chinese leaders, worried about skies choked with pollution and the country’s growing dependence on foreign oil, have championed electric cars as a possible solution. — New York Times, "Tesla’s Latest Aim: Build 500,000 Cars a Year in China," 10 July 2018 Pruitt had championed the rollback, claiming that the EPA did not have the legal authority to force companies like Fitzgerald to significantly reduce production of glider trucks. — Eric Lipton, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Super polluting’ trucks receive loophole on Pruitt’s last day," 7 July 2018 In both their personal and professional lives, Ouellette and Vandal have championed little-known and emerging creatives, acting as ambassadors for young talent, and then utilizing those works to elevate their own. — Jennifer Fernandez, House Beautiful, "This Montreal Couple Designed a Whole House Around the Art," 6 Feb. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'champion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.