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

Giuntoli’s departure meant Comolli’s arrival, and the former Liverpool and Tottenham director spoke at length with Tudor and was seemingly won over by what the former defender had to say. —Emmet Gates, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

The trailer showed the video game version of the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year receiving the ball, juking around Curl and leaving the defender in the dust. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2025

But the senior defender never came off the field during her final game — the Class 3A state championship game, which went to double overtime Saturday night. —Matt Le Cren, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025

Tell us about the coach… Kompany, the former Manchester City captain and one of the finest central defenders of his era, was a surprise choice when he was appointed in 2024. —Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 7 June 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