civil defense

American  

noun

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of civil defense

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

civil defense

Taiwan began 10 days of military and civil defense exercises on Wednesday to advance its strategy for deterring a potential Chinese invasion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

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

TAIPEI—Taiwan kicked off 10 days of military and civil defense exercises on Wednesday, advancing its strategy for deterring a Chinese invasion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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

As if striving to say something even less helpful, New York’s top civil defense official said, “As far as shelters for the majority of our citizens is concerned—of course, we don’t have any.”

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