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

In a first-half highlight, Phoebe Dummer stole the ball at mid-poll and outraced two defenders to score for a 4-1 lead with 27 seconds left. —Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026

Williams showed off her impressive shot making with multiple pull-up jumpers over defenders while Miles got downhill to get TCU back in the game. —Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Feb. 2026

Many city Democrats quickly took the position that this showed bad management by Stewart, while Stewart’s defenders slammed the action as a political smear. —Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 22 Feb. 2026

Ivan Angulo’s pass to Tiafi allowed the young defender to square the ball to Tiago, who scored his first goal for Orlando City. —Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Feb. 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