- 1a person, team, etc. that has won a competition, especially in a sport the world basketball champions a champion jockey/boxer/swimmer the reigning champion (= the person who is champion now) Wordfindersportathlete, champion, compete, fixture, match, record, spectator, sport, stadium, tournament Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivegreat, supreme, true, … verb + championbecome, be crowned, be named, … champion + verbdefend her/his title champion + nounfighter, jockey, sprinter, … See full entry
- 2champion (of something) a person who fights for, or speaks in support of, a group of people or a belief She was a champion of the poor all her life. Word OriginMiddle English (denoting a fighting man): from Old French, from medieval Latin campio(n-) ‘fighter’, from Latin campus ‘level ground’, specifically applied to the Campus Martius in Rome, used for games, athletic practice, and military drill.Extra examples The reigning champion will defend her title tonight. The two winners will move onto a one-game final to determine the champion. the Olympic skating champion He became a leading champion for victims of miscarriages of justice. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. She became best known as a vigorous champion of the rail link. She is a former Olympic skating champion. The double world sprint champion has been banned for drug-taking. The race was won by the Irish champion jockey, Michael Kinane.
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