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to take vengeance or exact satisfaction for:
to avenge a grave insult.
to take vengeance on behalf of:
He avenged his brother.
Contemporary Examples

Then Reagan hit the scene and became their avenger against affirmative action and so on, and the rest you know.
Class Consciousness Still Makes a Difference Michael Tomasky June 5, 2012

But the avenger is held to a standard of precision in the retaliation he seeks.
Numbers Don’t Tell the Mideast Story Thane Rosenbaum July 9, 2014

Chris Evans endured months of nausea-inducing workouts to bulk up for Captain America: The First avenger.
Invasion of the Bodybuilders Chris Lee June 5, 2011

He could imagine himself an Islamist avenger like that masked monster in black who appears in the ISIS snuff videos.
The Muslim Convert Behind America’s First Workplace Beheading Michael Daly September 26, 2014

Historical Examples

The crew of the avenger is an inconceivable ship’s complement for any pirate.
The Pirate and The Three Cutters Frederick Marryat

Twas seen and told how an avenger survived the fiend, as was learned afar.
Beowulf Anonymous

“Let me illustrate,”—and the hand of the avenger sought the lever.
The Gay Gnani of Gingalee Florence Huntley

It is impossible to say as much for the captain and crew of the avenger.
The Pirate and The Three Cutters Frederick Marryat

He rechecked his figure a third and fourth time, correcting his calculations each time with the forward movement of the avenger.
On the Trail of the Space Pirates Carey Rockwell

To avoid her will be easy, I should think; the avenger outsails everything.’
The Pirate and The Three Cutters Frederick Marryat

verb
(usually transitive) to inflict a punishment in retaliation for (harm, injury, etc) done to (a person or persons); take revenge for or on behalf of: to avenge a crime, to avenge a murdered friend
n.

1530s, agent noun from avenge (v.). Spenser (1596) has avengeress but no mention of Mrs. Peel.
v.

late 14c., from Anglo-French avenger, Old French avengier, from a- “to” (see ad-) + vengier “take revenge” (Modern French venger), from Latin vindicare “to claim, avenge, punish” (see vindicate). Related: Avenged; avenging.