defender

noun

de·​fend·​er di-ˈfen-dər 

1

: one that defends

2

: a player in a sport (such as football) assigned to a defensive position

Synonyms

• guardian
• custodian
• protector
• protection
• bodyguard

Examples of defender in a Sentence

one of the traditional roles of an older brother is that of schoolyard defender

Recent Examples on the Web

Shout out to @CamInman who noticed the 49ers had just 10 defenders (three linemen) on the play on which Fred Warner was injured. —Matt Barrows, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2025

After a rookie campaign that earned him unanimous Rookie of the Year honors and positioned him as one of the league’s elite defenders, his sophomore season was cut short by a shoulder blood clot. —Evan Dammarell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

Swift made a few Commanders defenders miss and scampered for a 55-yard touchdown. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025

Maybe that — combined with the steady growth of young defenders like Ashton Gillotte, Omarr Norman-Lott and Nohl Williams — will be enough to put KC back in position to lift its third Lombardi in four years. —Kansas City Star, 13 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English defendour, defender, borrowed from Anglo-French defendour, defendur, from defend-, stem of defendre "to defend" + -our, -ur -or entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing defender

• public defender

Rhymes for defender

• bartender
• contender
• engender
• extender
• offender
• pretender
• provender
• surrender
• suspender
• transgender
• bender
• blender

Kids Definition

defender

noun

de·​fend·​er -ˈfen-dər 

1

: one that defends

2

: a player in a sport (as football) who plays a defensive position

Legal Definition

defender

noun

de·​fend·​er

: a lawyer who represents defendants

especially : public defender