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

South Korea has massively invested in civil defense.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

"It rained a lot, the riverbank collapsed even further, and civil defense called us to evacuate," Luiz Otavio Souza, a 35-year-old salesman who had to leave his home and whose nephew is missing, told AFP.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 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

The Eisenhower administration, busy building a civil defense network in the middle of the Cold War, worked with Congress to pass new disaster relief laws.

From Salon • Jan. 26, 2025

The undertone of fear that San Francisco would be bombed which was abetted by weekly air raid warnings, and civil defense drills in school, heightened my sense of belonging.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou