crusader

noun

cru·sad·er | \krü-ˈsā-dər

plural crusaders

Definition of crusader

: 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 antigovernment 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