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

The low kick barely above the grass surface split two Jordan defenders and went into the left corner of the net. — Schuyler Dixon, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026

Panama defender Andrés Andrade was shown a card after a foul on an England's Morgan Rogers. — Nbc News, NBC news, 28 June 2026

But it was ruled offside due to his foot being just past the second-to-last Portuguese defender, preserving the scoreless tie. — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 27 June 2026

Belgium defender Nathan Ngoy fouls Iran forward Mehdi Taremi. — Eric Thayer, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 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