patriot

[ pey-tree-uht, -otor, especially British, pa-tree-uht ]

noun

1. a person who loves, supports, and defends their country and its interests with devotion.
2. a person who values individual rights, especially one who attempts to defend those rights against presumed interference by the federal government.
3. Patriot, Military. a U.S. Army antiaircraft missile with a range of 37 miles (60 kilometers) and a 200-pound (90-kilogram) warhead, launched from a tracked vehicle with radar and computer guidance and fire control.

patriot

¹

/ ˈpeɪtrɪət; ˌpætrɪˈɒtɪk; ˈpæt- /

noun

1. a person who vigorously supports his country and its way of life

Patriot

²

/ ˈpeɪtrɪət /

noun

1. a US surface-to-air missile system with multiple launch stations and the capability to track multiple targets by radar

Derived Forms

• ˌpatriˈotically, adverb
• patriotic, adjective

Other Words From

• anti·patri·ot noun
• semi·patri·ot noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of patriot¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French patriote, from Late Latin patriōta, from Greek patriṓtēs “fellow-countryman, lineage member (in the paternal line)”

Word History and Origins

Origin of patriot¹

C16: via French from Late Latin patriōta, from Greek patriotēs, from patris native land; related to Greek patēr father; compare Latin pater father, patria fatherland

Example Sentences

These were patriots who loved their country and do not want to see our great republic turned into a socialist country.

From Washington Post

The fluctuating role of Marvel’s fictional patriot in the ideological melee offers a microcosmic view of the deep ironies of America’s current, frustrating political situation.

From Vox

Perhaps even the most devoted sons must eventually leave their mothers to commit the traditional coming-of-age ritual of trashing the seat of American Democracy in the name of being a patriot.

From Washington Post

The people who easily bypassed the bollards and fences to terrorize the Capitol said they were there as patriots motivated by policy or politics or partisanship.

From Washington Post

A GoFundMe page created under Hopkins’s name had raised more than $136,000 by Tuesday evening, with donors praising him as a patriot and whistleblower.

From Washington Post

The man behind the desk is a fictional character—a ferocious patriot exposing the limits of rigid ideology.

From The Daily Beast

The Patriot Act allows the Department of Justice to seize foreign bank assets in U.S. accounts.

From The Daily Beast

“I have always considered him a friend, a patriot, and a dedicated public servant,” McCain said in a statement.

From The Daily Beast

Despite the trials of a lifetime and the events of this summer, Washington still calls himself a patriot.

From The Daily Beast

The President, yesterday, at a Patriot Day ceremony, tells me never to give into fear.

From The Daily Beast

He was a patriot of the noblest and most extensive views, and justly celebrated as a man of learning, eloquent and refined.

From Project Gutenberg

Pierre Van Cortlandt, a distinguished revolutionary patriot, died at his seat at Croton river, aged 94.

From Project Gutenberg

He was afterwards a member of the Massachusetts senate, and much esteemed as a physician and a patriot.

From Project Gutenberg

Posing as a patriot King and boasting of his love for his adopted country, he ever remained at heart a Frenchman.

From Project Gutenberg

And now, having attained all he could desire, Wilkes sank the patriot in the courtier.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• superpatriot