defence

[ dih-fens ]

noun

, de·fenced, de·fenc·ing.

1. British. variant of defense.

defence

/ dɪˈfɛns /

noun

1. resistance against danger, attack, or harm; protection
2. a person or thing that provides such resistance
3. a plea, essay, speech, etc, in support of something; vindication; justification
4. 1. a country's military measures or resources
   2. ( as modifier )

      defence spending

5. law a defendant's denial of the truth of the allegations or charge against him
6. law the defendant and his legal advisers collectively Compare prosecution
7. sport
   1. the action of protecting oneself, one's goal, or one's allotted part of the playing area against an opponent's attacks
   2. the method of doing this
   3. the players in a team whose function is to do this
8. American football usually preceded by the
   1. the team that does not have possession of the ball
   2. the members of a team that play in such circumstances
9. psychoanal See defence mechanism
10. plural fortifications

Derived Forms

• deˈfencelessly, adverb
• deˈfenceless, adjective
• deˈfencelessness, noun

Other Words From

• de·fencea·ble adjective
• de·fenceless adjective
• de·fenceless·ly adverb
• de·fenceless·ness noun
• prede·fence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of defence¹

C13: from Old French, from Late Latin dēfensum, past participle of dēfendere to defend

Example Sentences

Though some of its lenses are used in healthcare and engineering, Beck’s website details extensive military and defence applications.

From BBC

In July, a judge dismissed an involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin after police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defence.

From BBC

He is expected to play the 3-4-3 formation he preferred in Portugal - a big change from the standard four-man defence they had under Ten Hag.

From BBC

The government says the move will help with the implementation of the strategic defence review, due to report next year.

From BBC

The US defence official confirmed to the BBC that Ukraine had pledged to use only mines that remained active for a limited period of time.

From BBC