defender

noun

de·​fend·​er di-ˈfen-dər How to pronounce defender (audio)
Synonyms of defendernext
1
: one that defends
2
: a player in a sport (such as football) assigned to a defensive position

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Rielly Chesna, a defender with Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC, which lost to Naegohyang in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, also remarked on the team’s smooth choreography. Andrew McNicol, CNN Money, 7 June 2026 Meanwhile, Nico Hoerner was the starting shortstop in Saturday’s lineup, with rookie infielder Pedro Ramírez covering second base, underlining the potential options for a club with several versatile defenders. Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 7 June 2026 Sané scored off a short pass from Havertz, a diagonal shot between the legs of Miles Robinson that appeared to take a slight deflection off the defender and beat goalkeeper Matt Freese to the far post. CBS News, 6 June 2026 From a defensive standpoint, each element would be a plus-defender with the exception of Powell, which should make this lineup much easier to mask the deficiencies of a negative-defender, such as the ones with Herro. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 6 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for defender

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of defender was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Defender.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defender. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

defender

noun
de·​fend·​er -ˈfen-dər How to pronounce defender (audio)
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

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