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civil defense

American

noun

plans or activities organized by civilians and civilian authorities for the protection of civilian population and property in times of such disasters or emergencies as war or floods.

Etymology

Origin of civil defense

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

civil defense

In Gaza City, community elders, mokhtars, local dignitaries and civil defense crews gathered Tuesday for a mass funeral after the recovery effort that was accomplished with a single excavator and simple hand tools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Hollowed out by years of economic collapse and corruption under Rodríguez and her predecessors, Venezuela’s army, civil defense and other emergency responders are weaker than ever, analysts said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

South Korea has massively invested in civil defense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

"It requires surveys to discover and track NEOs, campaigns to characterize those that are hazardous, modeling efforts to understand and predict impact effects and associated consequences, and mitigation through impact avoidance and/or civil defense."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2025

“Iowa is not ready for a nuclear attack,” announced the state’s civil defense director.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023