defenseman

noun

de·​fense·​man di-ˈfen(t)s-mən 

-ˌman

: a player in a sport (such as hockey) who is assigned to a defensive zone or position

Examples of defenseman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nobody reached 60 points, the best defenseman is Ryan McDonagh, and Henrik Lundqvist has a good-but-not-great year by his standards. — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 30 July 2026

To that end, Grier made several changes to his roster, recently acquiring defensemen Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring via trade and signing defenseman Jacob Trouba and winger Mason Marchment as free agents. — Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 29 July 2026

The 29-year-old ranked second among all NHL defenseman at plus-42 and played all six games in Utah's first playoff appearance since moving from Arizona. — ABC News, 21 July 2026

The Hawks didn’t do much adding in the offseason — their biggest move being the trade for 25-year-old defenseman Bowen Byram, who signed a six-year, $75 million extension July 1. — Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

defenseman

noun

de·​fense·​man -mən 

-ˌman

: a player in a sport who is assigned to a defensive zone or position