champions

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of champion.

   The reigning champions faced a tough challenge from a younger team.

   History remembers these reformers as champions of the poor.

   Note

   A plural that gathers very different people: winners of a contest, fighters chosen to represent a side, and defenders of a cause, who are usually followed by of (champions of the poor). Even unusually notable specimens of a plant species can be champions. Before another noun the singular stays put, as in champion swimmers, not champions swimmers, because that use works as an attributive adjective.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of champion.

   The senator champions clean energy at every public hearing.

   Her foundation champions education for children in remote villages.

   Note

   The verb form is transitive, so its cause follows directly: a senator champions reform rather than champions for it. Today it means to promote or stand up for something. An older use, now obsolete, simply meant to challenge someone. The same spelling is also the plural noun, and the sentence decides which one you have: the champions won, but she champions a cause.

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