"defense attorney" means: A lawyer who represents defendants in legal proceedings.. This is technical or formal vocabulary, more likely to appear in school work, news or a particular profession than in peer chat. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your child uses the term, it is usually a sign of curiosity about a subject area. A short follow-up question about where they came across it is usually all that is needed.
defense attorney
A lawyer who represents defendants in legal proceedings.
Seen in the wild
Defense attorney Drew Schnack seeks grand jury to determine evidence handling in Quincy shooting
The defense attorney, speaking outside court, said he found the decision to remove him “difficult” but added, “It is what it is.”
Interesting plea from Cole Allen's defense attorney – that Allen's treatment is jail is far worse than the J6 Capitol rioters received. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Yeah I’ve always just thought it was silly to have a whole trial only for the witness to be like oh shit the guy I’ve been talking about for an hour isn’t the dude sitting next to the defense attorney, who is THAT?
Definitions
A lawyer who represents defendants in legal proceedings.
"defense attorney" means: A lawyer who represents defendants in legal proceedings.. This is technical or formal vocabulary, more likely to appear in school work, news or a particular profession than in peer chat. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your child uses the term, it is usually a sign of curiosity about a subject area. A short follow-up question about where they came across it is usually all that is needed.
"defense attorney" means: A lawyer who represents defendants in legal proceedings.. Register: formal or technical English, standard in its specialist domain (law, medicine, science, finance, etc.). Gloss the term with a plain synonym when writing for a general audience. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
“Defense attorney Drew Schnack seeks grand jury to determine evidence handling in Quincy shooting”
— Bluesky· May 2026“The defense attorney, speaking outside court, said he found the decision to remove him “difficult” but added, “It is what it is.””
— Bluesky· May 2026“Interesting plea from Cole Allen's defense attorney – that Allen's treatment is jail is far worse than the J6 Capitol rioters received. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Yeah I’ve always just thought it was silly to have a whole trial only for the witness to be like oh shit the guy I’ve been talking about for an hour isn’t the dude sitting next to the defense attorney, who is THAT?”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Other words near "defense attorney" (D)
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Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- 74%
(US) A lawyer; one who advises or represents others in legal matters as a profession.
- 69%
A professional person qualified (as by a law degree or bar exam) and authorized to practice law as an attorney-at-law, solicitor, advocate, barrister or equivalent, i.e. represent parties in lawsuits or trials and give legal advice.
- 69%
(law) An agent or representative authorized to act on someone else's behalf in accordance with that person's instructions.
- 67%
(legal) An attorney.
- 65%
(by extension) A legal layman who argues points of law.