defense

B1 Topic:War & Conflict

US /ˈdiːˌfɛns/ UK /dɪˈfɛns/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like defence /ɪ/ vs /iː/

Freq #1954

Meanings

1

noun
The act of protecting someone or something from attack or harm.

The dog growled in defense of its owner.
2

noun
A country's military and the action of protecting it from enemies.

The government spends billions on national defense each year.
3

noun
An argument given to support or justify something.

She spoke up in defense of her friend.
4

noun
In sports, the players or efforts that try to stop the other team from scoring.

Their strong defense kept the other team from scoring all night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

defence fortification guard preservation protection safeguard shield ward

Opposites

attack offense prosecution

Word family

Forms defenses

Derived forms air-defenseantidefensebiodefensecounterdefensecyberdefensedefcondefenselessdefensindefensive defensivenesseco-defenseecodefense

Related forms defend

Appears in

Phrases (4)

See all

defense lawyer
A lawyer whose job is to defend the accused in a criminal case

Adjective + noun
defense contractor
a company or person hired to develop or manufacture military equipment or systems

Noun + noun
self defense
action taken to protect oneself from an attack

Noun + noun
vehement defense
a forceful and energetic argument supporting someone or something

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (4)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun.

*gʷʰen- Proto-Indo-European defens Middle English dēfēnsa la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

War & Conflict

External links

# defense

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdiːˌfɛns/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈfɛns/
**Frequency rank:** 1954

## Meanings
1. The act of protecting someone or something from attack or harm.
2. A country's military and the action of protecting it from enemies.
3. An argument given to support or justify something.
4. In sports, the players or efforts that try to stop the other team from scoring.

## Examples
- The dog growled in defense of its owner.
- The government spends billions on national defense each year.
- She spoke up in defense of her friend.
- Their strong defense kept the other team from scoring all night.

## Synonyms
- defence
- fortification
- guard
- preservation
- protection
- safeguard
- shield
- ward

## Antonyms
- attack
- offense
- prosecution

## Derived Forms
- air-defense
- antidefense
- biodefense
- counterdefense
- cyberdefense
- defcon
- defenseless
- defensin
- defensive
- defensiveness
- eco-defense
- ecodefense

## Related Forms
- defend

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʷʰen-
- Root: defens
- Root: dēfēnsa

## Etymology
From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun.

## AI Etymology
defense comes from Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen-, Middle English defens, Old French defens, la-lat dēfēnsa. Current senses include The act of protecting someone or something from attack or harm and A country's military and the action of protecting it from enemies. English relatives and later formations include air-defense, antidefense, biodefense, defend.

## Topics
- War & Conflict

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