defendant

American  

[dih-fen-duhnt, -dant] / dɪˈfɛn dənt, -dænt /

noun

1. Law. a person, company, etc., against whom a claim or charge is brought in a court (plaintiff ).

2. Obsolete. defender.

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adjective

1. making one's defense; defending.

   a defendant corporation.

2. Obsolete. defensive.

defendant British  

/ dɪˈfɛndənt /

noun

1. a person against whom an action or claim is brought in a court of law Compare plaintiff

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adjective

1. making a defence; defending

defendant Cultural  

1. The party that is being sued in court. (Compare plaintiff.)

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Other Word Forms

• nondefendant noun
• undefendant adjective

Etymology

Origin of defendant

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English defendaunt, from Anglo-French ( Middle French, Old French defendant ). See defend, -ant

Example Sentences

In all three states, a defendant arguing self-defense must show that they were responding to a reasonable fear of imminent danger to justify the shooting.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

Meta is named first as the defendant in most of these complaints, but every social media app of note is included in at least one of the cases.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

While Google, as the owner of video-sharing site YouTube, was also a defendant in the case, most of the trial proceedings focused on Instagram and Meta.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Judge Kato Crews dismissed the Mountain West Conference as a defendant but said he wants to put the rest of the case on hold until after a Supreme Court ruling in B.P.J. v.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

The judge rapped for order and asked, “Is the defendant ready to enter a plea to this indictment?”

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright

Related Words

• litigant
• offender
• prisoner
• suspect