## 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
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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