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 of defender

• 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

Thomas defenders maintained that slow-motion replays and freeze frames made an accidental collision appear deliberate. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Fifteen yards into his route, James dug inside, turned to catch the pass from Zabransky, and took a little jab step upfield as four Oklahoma defenders closed in. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 3 Oct. 2026

On a scramble of roughly 20 yards, Katz escaped the pocket, broke tackles and juked defenders in the open field to extend the drive. — D’joumbarey Moreau, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026

According to advanced fielding metrics, no player in the league made a bigger defensive contribution to his team than the Braves center fielder, an elite defender with a strong arm who takes clean routes to the ball. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

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