champion
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a person or team that wins a competition or contest.
n.the winner of a competition, tournament, or other sporting contest.
Simple“The world champion held the trophy high while the crowd cheered.”
In context“After a grueling final match, she was crowned the undisputed champion of the international chess tournament.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.someone who speaks or fights in support of an idea or a group of people.
n.a person who vigorously supports or defends a particular cause, belief, or person.
Simple“He was a lifelong champion of poor people's rights in his city.”
In context“The senator became a leading champion of environmental reform, pushing for stricter regulations on industrial waste disposal.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.a plant or tree that is much larger or more impressive than others of its kind.
n.a specimen of a plant species notable for its exceptional size or age.
Simple“This oak tree is a local champion because of its massive trunk.”
In context“Arborists identified the ancient sequoia as a state champion based on its record-breaking height and girth.”
Synonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
v.to publicly support or defend a set of beliefs or a plan.
v.to vigorously support or defend a cause or principle. Transitive; requires a direct object.
Simple“The local newspaper decided to champion the campaign for a new park.”
In context“The organization continues to champion the rights of indigenous communities whose lands are threatened by commercial development.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.very good or excellent.
adj.denoting excellence or high quality. Often used as a predicative adjective in specific regional dialects.
Simple“That was a champion meal; I enjoyed every bit of it.”
In context“He did a champion job on the repairs, and the machine has been running perfectly ever since.”
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-der. Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s Proto-Italic *kampos Latin campusbor. Frankish *kamp Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Frankish *-jan Frankish *kampijan Proto-Germanic *-jô Frankish *-jō Frankish *kampijōbor. Medieval Latin campiō Old French champiunbor. Middle English champioun English champion From Middle English champioun, from Old French champion, from Medieval Latin campio (“combatant in a duel, champion”), from Frankish kampijō (“fighter”), from Proto-West Germanic kampijō (“combat soldier”), a derivative of kampijan (“to battle, to campaign”), itself a derivative of kamp (“battlefield, battle”), ultimately a borrowing in West-Germanic from Latin campus (“a field, a plain, a place of action”). By surface analysis champ + -ion. Cognate with Old English cæmpa, cempa (“soldier, warrior, champion”), Old High German kempfeo, kempfo (“fighter, warrior, champion”), whence archaic German Kempfe (“fighter”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.