defender

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /dɪˈfɛndɝ/ UK /dɪˈfɛndə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #11686

Meanings

1

noun
Someone who protects a person, place, or thing from harm.

He became a fierce defender of free speech.
2

noun
In team sports, a player whose main job is to stop the other team from scoring.

The defender blocked the striker's shot at the last second.
3

noun
A lawyer who represents people accused of crimes.

A public defender was assigned to handle her case.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · someone who protects a... guardian protectorshielder

Word family

Forms defenders

Derived forms defenderlessdefendershipdefendress

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English defender, deffender, defendere, defendour, defendoure, partly from Anglo-Norman defendour, from Old French defendëor; partly from Middle English defenden + -ere, equivalent to defend + -er.

defender Middle English defendour xno defendëor Old French defenden Middle English

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Topics

People & Society

External links

# defender

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈfɛndɝ/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈfɛndə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 11686

## Meanings
1. Someone who protects a person, place, or thing from harm.
2. In team sports, a player whose main job is to stop the other team from scoring.
3. A lawyer who represents people accused of crimes.

## Examples
- He became a fierce defender of free speech.
- The defender blocked the striker's shot at the last second.
- A public defender was assigned to handle her case.

## Derived Forms
- defenderless
- defendership
- defendress

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: defender
- Root: defendour
- Root: defendëor
- Root: defenden

## Etymology
From Middle English defender, deffender, defendere, defendour, defendoure, partly from Anglo-Norman defendour, from Old French defendëor; partly from Middle English defenden + -ere, equivalent to defend + -er.

## AI Etymology
defender comes from Middle English defender, deffender, defendere, defendour, defendoure, partly from Anglo-Norman defendour, from Old French defendëor; partly from Middle English defenden + -ere, equivalent to defend + -er. The historical chain includes Middle English defender, xno defendour, Old French defendëor, Middle English defenden. Current senses include Someone who protects a person, place, or thing from harm and In team sports, a player whose main job is to stop the other team from scoring. English relatives and later formations include defenderless, defendership, defendress.

## Topics
- People & Society

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