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

Yaya’s defenders argue that she, and others recently evicted from Taiwan, are being selectively prosecuted. —Eryk Michael Smith, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025

The 21-year-old has started in 74 games this season and become a rugged on-ball defender in his first season. —William Guillory, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025

Wong is generally considered a below-average defender as his negative-11 career defensive runs saved number, per Fangraphs, would indicate. —Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025

Veteran defender Chad Vandegriffe led the MASL with 81 blocks and is in contention to win the league’s defender of the year award — which would mark the Comets’ second consecutive honor in that category. —Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 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

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