defector

UK/dɪˈfɛktə(ɹ)/

nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,736 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: defectors

A defector is somebody who abandons their country or side. A high-profile defector, the defector's account, debrief the defector.

In the Cold War they were the main source of intelligence about the other side, and the standing problem was that a defector has every reason to say what the new side wants to hear. The word is also used in party politics for crossing the floor.

Definitions of defector

1noundefectorSomebody who abandons their country or side.C1
“After years as a spy, the defector fled to the West and lived under a new name.”

defector is a person.

Where it comes from

Latin
dēfector
English, today
defector

Borrowed from Latin dēfector.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Word Building

Practise this word

defector in the wild

In that sense, the defector is often considered a traitor by their original side.
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another.
Defector (disambiguation)
In this episode, a Romulan defector requests asylum aboard the Enterprise after claiming to possess vital information about an imminent Romulan invasion.
The Defector (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
About 76% to 84% of defectors interviewed in China or South Korea came from the North Korean provinces bordering China.
North Korean defectors
From China, defectors usually flee to a third country, due to China being a relatively close ally of North Korea.
North Korean defectors

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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