branilac

1. defender
   Branioci grada su izdržali opsadu. — The defenders of the city withstood the siege.
2. (in court) defense counsel; defense attorney
   Optuženom je dodeljen branilac po službenoj dužnosti. — The defendant was assigned a court-appointed defense attorney.
3. (in sports) defending champion
   Branilac titule je ispao već u prvom kolu. — The defending champion was knocked out in the first round.

In Croatia the word branitelj is used instead.