supportersup‧port‧er /səˈpɔːtə $ -ɔːrtər/ ●●● S3 W2 noun [countable] 
one of Bush’s staunchest supporterssupporter of supporters of animal rights legislation2British English someone who likes a particular sports team, and often goes to watch them play SYN fan: Manchester United supportersCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + supportera strong supporter· He was a strong supporter of co-education.a loyal supporter· The party still has many loyal supporters.a staunch supporter (=a strong and loyal supporter)· Even his staunchest supporters acknowledge that he is unlikely to win.an enthusiastic/keen supporter· Eisenhower had been an enthusiastic supporter of the regime.an ardent/fervent supporter (=very enthusiastic)· She is an ardent supporter of the government's proposed tax reforms.an active supporter· He remained an active supporter of Greenpeace.a leading supporter· Many of his leading supporters had by now either escaped abroad or been captured.a political supporter· He is one of the governor's key political supporters.Obama/Labour etc supporters· Most of the newspaper's readers were Labour supporters.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Supporters of women's rights are protesting against the court's decision.
- a Labour Party supporter
- Milan supporters cheered as they scored their first goal in two games.
- Mill was a strong supporter of political reform.
- Several supporters were arrested outside the stadium.
- She had always been one of the prime minister's strongest supporters.
- The town was full of football supporters, waiting for the big day.
- Hormel is a long-time supporter of the Democratic Party and there were no suggestions of wrongdoing on his part.
- How does he sound populist without offending his supporters in the corporate boardroom?
- It was the revolutionaries who were the villains, the Royals and their supporters the good and kind and handsome heroes.
- Its supporters in the streets may melt away at the first sign of trouble.
- Nevertheless, Kasparov is coming under increasing criticism from his supporters for his stubborn adherence to the Grunfeld Defence.
- Rangers' supporters replied in kind, and so the blood feud went on and on - and continues to this day.
- The strongest opposition is likely to come from supporters of nuclear power, which was cut sharply in the Clinton budget.
Longman Language Activatorsomeone who watches a sport
someone who goes to a game and watches people playing a sport: · I'm not playing myself, I'm just a spectator.· Over 30,000 spectators turned out for the women's basketball match against Zaire.
someone who likes a particular sport, or a particular team, and often goes to watch a game or watch a team play: · Thousands of fans queued to buy tickets.football/cricket/hockey etc fan: · Over 200 British football fans were sent home after the violence in Rimini.United/England/Yankee etc fans: · Leeds fans howled in anguish as Arsenal scored another goal.
British someone who likes a particular sport or team and often goes to watch a game or watch a team play - use this especially about football: · Several supporters were arrested outside the stadium.· The town was full of football supporters, waiting for the big day.Milan/Liverpool etc supporter: · Milan supporters cheered as they scored their first goal in two games.
someone who supports a person/political party/idea someone who supports a person, political party, or idea: · She had always been one of the prime minister's strongest supporters.· a Labour Party supportersupporter of: · Supporters of women's rights are protesting against the court's decision.staunch supporter (of) (=very strong supporter): · Mill was a strong supporter of political reform.
all the people who support a person, group, or plan: · The party's support has always been in the big cities.· Carter had seen his support dwindling in the southern states.
also sympathiser British someone who supports the ideas of a political organization but does not belong to it, especially an organization that is illegal: · His opponents accused him of being a Nazi sympathizer.· Money for the group's terrorist activities was supplied by sympathisers in the US.
someone who supports the ideas of a political or religious leader: · Some of Biko's followers resented his friendship with a white journalist.follower of: · the followers of Mahatma Gandhi
all the people who support a person or organization: · The civil rights movement attracted a large following in the northern cities.· In both states, O'Reilly has a loyal following among hard-line conservatives.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYADJECTIVES/NOUN + supporter an ardent supporter of free trade a loyal supporter of the team one of Bush’s staunchest supporters She was a vocal opponent of the plan.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· He was a strong supporter of co-education.
· The party still has many loyal supporters.
(=a strong and loyal supporter)· Even his staunchest supporters acknowledge that he is unlikely to win.
· Eisenhower had been an enthusiastic supporter of the regime.
(=very enthusiastic)· She is an ardent supporter of the government's proposed tax reforms.
· He remained an active supporter of Greenpeace.
· Many of his leading supporters had by now either escaped abroad or been captured.
· He is one of the governor's key political supporters.
· Most of the newspaper's readers were Labour supporters.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· The company is an active supporter of animal rights groups.
an ardent supporter of free trade· He remains a committed supporter of the present government.
· He is an enthusiastic supporter of the war.
(=someone who supports a particular football team)· 55 football supporters were arrested after the game.
a loyal supporter of the team· President Johnson was a passionate supporter of the space programme.
· There were fights between rival fans after the match.
one of Bush’s staunchest supporters She was a vocal opponent of the plan.· The Midland Group has been an active supporter of the railway since 1955, both practically and financially.· For the remainder of his until his death in June 1989 he nevertheless remained an active and devoted supporter.
· I was an ardent admirer and supporter of MacBrayne's buses: they opened up the north-west for me.· Jerry Falwell were ardent supporters of the Likud and its policies.· Hope was an ardent supporter of the Society, and was its President from June 1859 until its dissolution after 1878.· Then Macleod, to the astonishment of some of his most ardent supporters, decided not to enter the lists.· He held numerous cabinet posts and was an ardent supporter of Mrs Thatcher.· Many were held in the scientific institutions where some of the nonconformists most ardent supporters worked.
· By the end of the campaign, Labour identifiers were 41 percent more optimistic than Conservative supporters about Labour's chances.· But this attitude on the part of conservative supporters may also be due to status differences.· A Mori poll last week gave him the support of 29 % of Conservative supporters compared with 25 % for Mr Portillo.· The evidence for this is mixed, showing that a great number of those who bought shares were already Conservative supporters anyway.· But it is a happy thought that Glenda Jackson probably affects Conservative supporters in much the same way.· On the one hand Conservative supporters seem more concerned about the outcome on Thursday and are fractionally more likely to vote.· As the figures show, Conservative supporters are keenest that their party should govern on its own.· There have been plenty of City frauds and scandals involving Conservative supporters.
· However, he later recognised John Baskerville's genius and became his enthusiastic supporter.· The governors have power and responsibility, with just a little encouragement they can also become a most enthusiastic supporters club.· Gary has had an interest in nature since childhood and is an enthusiastic supporter of conservation and environmental issues.· Her predecessor, Karl-Heinz Funke, was himself a farmer and an enthusiastic supporter of intensive agricultural methods.· One enthusiastic supporter more than a century ago offered to go without pudding for a year to raise much-needed funds.· Harwell's director, Sir John Cockcroft, was an enthusiastic supporter of fusion research.
· A fervent supporter of Home Rule, he had converted to the Roman Catholic faith.
· As a former schoolmaster, he has always been outspoken on education issues and a firm supporter of traditional learning methods.· Bob Dole had seemed a firm supporter, but that was then.
· Naturally, Labour supporters have shrouded MacDonald's name in treachery.· The recession had no discernible consequences for the ability of Labour and its supporters to maintain political work.· In the Labour Party the supporters of rearmament - Dalton and Bevin - were forced to work behind the scenes.· In view of the threat of expulsions contained in these circulars, Labour supporters of Unity had to reconsider their position.· Whereas most of the Heralds readers were Labour supporters, only two-thirds of the Mirror's were.· It's a story which should inspire all Merseyside's Labour supporters and ensure the Tories do not become complacent. 17.· A larger proportion of Labour supporters favour a deal with the Liberal Democrats.· Eventually, I muttered that we were Labour supporters.
· There is a limit to the knocks loyal supporters can take.· Oregon has an organization like this too, called the Fast Break Club, with fifty loyal supporters.· For 30 years, he was a paid-up and apparently loyal supporter of its policies.· Mrs Roosevelt had a much stronger and more loyal band of supporters than Mrs Clinton does.· Paul Alexandre, his loyal and sympathetic supporter, left Paris to serve in the army medical service.· Many of our most active and fervently loyal members and supporters are members through direct entry.· The loyal and paying supporter demands greater respect from the club.
· They are inseparable. Political supporters have been invited to White House functions since the beginning of the republic.
· A staunch supporter of the Good Friday agreement, he is the first victim of the Troubles since July.· However, after learning of the Midway plan, he became one of its staunchest supporters.· The occasion will, I hear, attract Mrs T's staunchest supporters.
· Even its long-standing strong supporters are cautious in their appraisals today.· In fact, Downtown in general has nearly as strong a supporter in Riordan as it had with his predecessor Tom Bradley.· Modernization theory, like the Weber thesis, has its strong supporters and its strong detractors.· Pat Buchanan has built a strong coalition of supporters.· Both were strong supporters of municipal enterprise.· He is a strong supporter of a bill before Congress to limit the number of death penalty appeals to four.
NOUN· Among Dole supporters, 28 percent took that view.· Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., a Dole supporter, immediately attacked the idea of decertification.
· I don't just mean football supporters, or race-goers, or athletics buffs.· And those football supporters, storming the terraces.· My generation of football supporters have no idea at all if George Best or even Pele were that good.· After all, some of them might be football supporters.· It's a long shot, but well worth trying. Football supporters aren't the only ones who go around enmasse.· Male speaker They're football supporters through and through up here.· Furthermore, the fans themselves, although recognising the different types of football supporter, will not think in terms of a career structure.
VERB· The Trust is one of the world's leading non-government supporters of medical research.· The leader of the revolt was Antonio Palacios Miranda whose first act was to imprison the leading government supporters in that area.· This has led supporters of this particular point of view to deny the premise.· And these wives are largely locked into a role of helpmate and lead supporter for their husband-the-diplomat.· The initiative is no cure-all, emphasizes Ross Forney, who led the supporters.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
- Few people could have made a less favorable impression or turned out to be such a stalwart ally.
- They are her stalwart supporters in a dosed, oppressive world.
WORD FAMILYnounsupportsupporteradjectivesupportivesupportingverbsupport
1someone who supports a particular person, group, or planstrong/firm/staunch supporter one of Bush’s staunchest supporterssupporter of supporters of animal rights legislation2British English someone who likes a particular sports team, and often goes to watch them play SYN fan: Manchester United supportersCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + supportera strong supporter· He was a strong supporter of co-education.a loyal supporter· The party still has many loyal supporters.a staunch supporter (=a strong and loyal supporter)· Even his staunchest supporters acknowledge that he is unlikely to win.an enthusiastic/keen supporter· Eisenhower had been an enthusiastic supporter of the regime.an ardent/fervent supporter (=very enthusiastic)· She is an ardent supporter of the government's proposed tax reforms.an active supporter· He remained an active supporter of Greenpeace.a leading supporter· Many of his leading supporters had by now either escaped abroad or been captured.a political supporter· He is one of the governor's key political supporters.Obama/Labour etc supporters· Most of the newspaper's readers were Labour supporters.