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

• custodian
• guard
• guardian
• guardian angel
• protection
• protector

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

In the summer, Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka, defender Alejandro Grimaldo and forward Victor Boniface joined and proved instrumental to the team’s success. —Ben Morse, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024

Suarez scored the game winner 20 minutes later after Gomez stole the ball from a Kansas City defender deep in Sporting territory and crossed it to Suarez for the tap-in. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2024

Kennedy assumed Girma’s central defender spot between two veterans in Abby Dahlkemper and left fullback Kristen McNabb. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024

The Warriors had a chance to tie the game with 20 seconds left, but Curry rushed a one-handed 3-pointer over two defenders. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024

For more than half a century, my mom has been a champion for justice, standing with human rights defenders around the globe. —Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024

Collectively, the edge rushers struggled to pressure the quarterbacks Tuesday, with linebacker Kain Medrano the only defender consistently reaching the backfield. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024

Then the guard turned his body to firmly plant himself in front of Lewis’ defender to give the shooter space. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 30 Mar. 2024

Aside from being my personal champion, Congresswoman Bolton was a fierce and bold defender of both democracy and women, applauding their work in WWII and working hard to desegregate the nursing units where so many of them served. —Peter Georgescu, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

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

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