reigning champion

noun

  1. the person or team that currently holds a title or has won the most recent competition

    B2

    countable noun phrase; often used with "the"

    • "She is the reigning champion."A2
    • "The reigning champion will defend the title next month."B1
    • "Although she lost her first match, the reigning champion remains confident."B2

Collocations

reigning world championreigning Olympic championdefending championdefeat the reigning champion

Word family

reignchampionchampionship