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

Russia's defence ministry said only that it had shot down eight ballistic missiles from Ukraine, without saying where.

From BBC

All the best blitz defence teams know when to apply it and ramp it up and when to dial it down.

From BBC

The area has been earmarked for a flood defence scheme.

From BBC

His first term in office was marked by anger at Europe, particularly Germany, over low defence spending and trade deficits.

From BBC

He has condemned the Nato ballistic missile defence shield in Deveselu, Romania.

From BBC