Word family noun attack counterattack attacker adjective attacking counterattacking verb attack counterattack
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishattackerat‧tack‧er /əˈtækə $ -ər/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 a person who deliberately uses violence to hurt someone Her attacker then dragged her into the bushes. a sex attacker2 a member of a sports team whose job is to move forward and try to score goals or win points → defenderExamples from the Corpus
attacker• Margaret McLaughlin almost certainly scratched her attacker.• Her attacker is described as white, in his mid-fifties and with medium-length dark hair.• Her attacker then dragged her into bushes.• Eventually Ponyboy's best friend, Johnny kills his attacker in order to save his and Ponyboy's life.• The trapped forces use up their supplies, and the attacker can strike from all directions.• Some of the attackers were also killed and injured, but their number was not immediately known.• Mr Harrison was slashed across the chest three times and stabbed, yet he clung on, trying to overpower the attacker.• The attacker fled empy-handed.• The defender now turns attacker, stepping quickly forward and striking with a reverse punch to his attacker's chest. 