defence

American  

[dih-fens] / dɪˈfɛns /

noun

defenced, defencing

1. British. variant of defense.

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defence British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• defenceable adjective
• defenceless adjective
• defencelessly adverb
• defencelessness noun
• predefence noun

Etymology

Origin of defence

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

Compare meaning

How does defence compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• offence vs. defence

Example Sentences

Howe's options in midfield and defence were already depleted by a lengthy injury list amid a gruelling schedule with Newcastle still alive in four competitions.

From Barron's

With half an hour played, an unmarked Promise David got away from the Bayern defence and had just Neuer to beat, but headed his effort directly at the goalkeeper.

From Barron's

Harry at times sounded more defensive than the defence.

From BBC

His defence has also come in for criticism with his failure to deal with a kick ahead by Northampton's Henry Pollock in a recent Bordeaux-Begles' Champions Cup win the latest evidence against him.

From BBC

However, the government points to its investments in flood defences and funds to support sustainable food production as evidence of its efforts to protect the UK from climate change and nature loss.

From BBC