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

With a 6-10 wingspan, he was viewed as one of the best and most athletic defenders in his draft class with elite 3-and-D potential. —Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 29 Jan. 2025

Girma is considered to be one of the world's best defenders, playing every minute of the 2024 Paris Olympic tournament where the Americans won gold with a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the final. —Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2025

Mahomes' wife, Brittany Mahomes, has been one of her husband's staunchest defenders after big games. —Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 28 Jan. 2025

When someone points out that Blue Origin has existed for nearly a quarter of a century, defenders of the company will say that Blue spent the first decade of that time largely operating as a think tank. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 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

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