champion

noun cham·pi·on \ ˈcham-pē-ən \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: champion in a Sentence

Definition of champion

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

See champion defined for English-language learners

See champion defined for kids

Examples of champion in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of champion from the Web

Her mother, Patti Foldager, and her husband, Eric Strabel, are both Mount Marathon champions, and Denali longs to join that club.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Who will win Wednesday’s Mount Marathon races? Take your pick," 4 July 2018
Oak Creek went 2-21 this past season with a 1-13 mark in the SEC, but just a year ago the Knights had a senior-laden team and were conference champions.

— mark stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Kyle Johnsen makes tough choice, leaves Greenfield for Oak Creek," 29 June 2018
Besides Germany this year, France in 2002, Italy in 2010 and Spain in 2014 were the previous defending champions to get eliminated in the group stage.

— samuel petrequin, Fox News, "Defending champion Germany eliminated from World Cup," 27 June 2018
An All-County selection for the third straight season, Meininger was a significant reason why the Hawks were 2A South champions and state runner-up.

— kyle stackpole, Howard County Times, "Sydney Robinson sprints towards girls outdoor track and field Athlete of the Year honors," 26 June 2018
The beauty of playing in the Midwest League is that there are first-half champions and wild cards in each division and the same pennant race plays out in the second half.

— paul johnson, Elgin Courier-News, "That winning feeling: Cougars wrap up first half above .500, aim higher in second half," 24 June 2018
Failing to make the eight-under cut Friday were notable major champions Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Bubba Watson, and — despite four birdies in a row Friday — Jordan Spieth.

— sam farmer, latimes.com, "Dustin Johnson takes four-shot lead into the weekend at U.S. Open," 16 June 2018
What’s more, Obama was wary of efforts by the Saudis, who were hardly champions of democracy and human rights, to pull him deeper into regional conflicts.

— adam entous, The New Yorker, "Donald Trump’s New World Order," 11 June 2018
The Capitals were going to give him a modest raise to $1.8 million next season, low for a veteran NHL head coach, let alone a champion.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "Panthers should have gone after championship coach, but here's why they had no interest," 21 June 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of champion

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin campion-, campio, of West Germanic origin; akin to Old English cempa warrior

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

champion Synonyms

champion

verb

Definition of champion

championed; championing; champions

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

See champion defined for English-language learners

Examples of champion in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of champion from the Web

Thanks to conservation efforts championed in part by the National Zoo, breeders and zoologists around the world have redoubled efforts to preserve the species through the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program.

— katherine j. wu, Smithsonian, "The National Zoo’s Golden Lion Tamarins Delight Curators with the Delivery of Twins," 3 July 2018
The federal health care law championed by former President Barack Obama gave states the option of expanding Medicaid coverage to able-bodied adults.

— NBC News, "Nearly 500,000 in Kentucky losing vision, dental coverage following Medicaid ruling," 2 July 2018
Officials in the bloc have been discussing such a fund since last year as one option for setting up a euro zone budget or boosting fiscal capacity - an idea championed by France and to which opposition from Germany appears to be softening.

— michelle iracheta, Houston Chronicle, "Coffer running dry in Oak Ridge North; city looks toward future," 30 June 2018
The administration’s immigration crackdown hit resistance this week after the House rejected a border bill championed by the president, and a federal judge ordered the government to reunite immigrant families within month.

— marissa j. lang, BostonGlobe.com, "Hundreds of women in D.C. protest ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy," 28 June 2018
The Swiss government opposed on Wednesday a grassroots campaign for a nationwide ban on facial coverings in public that will prompt a binding referendum, the latest twist in a Europe-wide crackdown on burqas championed by anti-Muslim activists.

— michael shields, The Christian Science Monitor, "Swiss government's rejection of burqa ban prompts binding referendum," 27 June 2018
Harm reduction: The package does little to further some of the most progressive ideas championed by some cities in the United States and Canada.

— lev facher, STAT, "What’s in the House’s bills to address the opioid crisis — and what’s not," 21 June 2018
That is particularly the case when looking at the most recent proposal championed by Ivanka Trump and Marco Rubio.

— alan barber, Fortune, "Ivanka Trump’s Paid Leave Policy Would Be Disastrous. Here Are Some Better Options," 15 June 2018
Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan said a commission championed by former Sen. Ted Stevens concluded village police officers, VPSOs and Alaska State Troopers should all fall under a single statewide training and certification program.

— kyle hopkins, Anchorage Daily News, "A broken system of oversight for Alaska’s village police officers," 9 June 2018

First Known Use of champion

circa 1616

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

champion Synonyms

Synonyms

advocate, back, endorse (also indorse), patronize, plump (for), support;

Near Antonyms

baffle, foil, frustrate, interfere, oppose, sabotage, thwart;

desert, disappoint, fail, let down;

Related Words

adopt, embrace, espouse;

abet, aid, assist, help, prop (up), second, side (with);

backstop, bolster, boost, buttress, reinforce (also reenforce);

advance, forward, further;

plug, preach, talk up;

Phrases

go in for, go to bat for, hold a brief for, stand up for, stick up for;

Synonym Discussion of champion

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

CHAMPION Defined for English Language Learners

champion

noun

Definition of champion for English Language Learners

: someone or something (such as a team or an animal) that has won a contest or competition especially in sports
: someone who fights or speaks publicly in support of a person, belief, cause, etc.