defend
Americanverb (used with object)
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defends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
defended,
past participle, past
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defending
present participle
-
to ward off attack from; guard against assault or injury (usually followed by from oragainst ).
The sentry defended the gate against sudden attack.
- Antonyms:
- attack
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to maintain by argument, evidence, etc.; uphold.
She defended her claim successfully.
- Synonyms:
- vindicate
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to contest (a legal charge, claim, etc.).
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Law. to serve as attorney for (a defendant).
He has defended some of the most notorious criminals.
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to support (an argument, theory, etc.) in the face of criticism; prove the validity of (a dissertation, thesis, or the like) by answering arguments and questions put by a committee of specialists.
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Sports. to attempt to retain (a championship title, position, etc.), as in a competition against a challenger.
A fortuitous trade has landed him on the team defending the World Series championship.
verb (used without object)
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defends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
defended,
past participle, past
-
defending
present participle
-
Law. to enter or make a defense.
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Sports. to prevent the opposing team from scoring.
She’s a freshman who already scores and defends like a professional.
verb
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to protect (a person, place, etc) from harm or danger; ward off an attack on
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(tr) to support in the face of criticism, esp by argument or evidence
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to represent (a defendant) in court in a civil or criminal action
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sport to guard or protect (oneself, one's goal, etc) against attack
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(tr) to protect (a championship or title) against a challenge
Synonym Usage
Defend, guard, preserve, protect all mean to keep safe. To defend is to strive to keep safe by resisting attack: to defend one's country. To guard is to watch over in order to keep safe: to guard a camp. To preserve is to keep safe in the midst of danger, either in a single instance or continuously: to preserve a spirit of conciliation. To protect is to keep safe by interposing a shield or barrier: to protect books by means of heavy paper covers.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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defendernoun
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defendableadjective
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undefendableadjective
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undefendedadjective
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well-defendedadjective
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undefendablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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defendsimple
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defendssimple
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have defendedperfect
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has defendedperfect
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am defendingprogressive
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are defendingprogressive
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is defendingprogressive
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have been defendingperfect progressive
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has been defendingperfect progressive
Past
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defendedsimple
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had defendedperfect
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was defendingprogressive
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were defendingprogressive
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had been defendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of defend
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English defenden, from Old French défendre, from Latin dēfendere “to ward off, repel,” from dē- de- + -fendere “to strike” ( see also bane ( def. ))
Explanation
Defend has different shades of meaning, but it always has the sense of protecting something — your ideas, for instance, or your title as world heavyweight champion. If you order the blood sausage and lamb when you're out to eat with your vegan friends, you may have to defend your eating habits, meaning speak up in support of your choices. Defend can also be something more concrete, like when you defend your property or your country. The lawyer who represents someone accused of a crime is there to defend the accused person — who is called the defendant — and to argue his case in court.
Vocabulary lists containing defend
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Veterans Day Vocabulary
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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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:
Two days after the indictment was unveiled, Rocha Moya announced he was taking a leave of absence to defend himself against what he called “false and malicious” allegations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
He added that the new tariffs are “a focused response to protect and defend our industries and allow them to compete with U.S. products in the Canadian market.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
This process, sometimes called “metabolic adaptation”, reflects the body’s tendency to defend against weight loss.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Let me tell you, they’ll hire whatever it takes, and they’ll spend money like it’s going out of style to defend this case, because everything’s up for grabs.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
I needed to get up and defend myself.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
The Puerto Rican defends her WBA and WBO featherweight titles against Argentina's Lucrecia Manzur on Friday in California, in the first world championship boxing event to be streamed live on TikTok.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
On March 11, Dr. Fauci describes a disagreement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in which he defends Mr. Trump’s decision not to impose a travel ban on the U.K.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
But he ably defends Alys from a group of invaders, relying on muscle memory and — perhaps — a sense of honor to pay her back for saving his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
PEN America describes itself as “the only national organization that both celebrates and defends creative expression.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
On the contrary, it is completely subject to Fortune, not having the virtue that defends it faithfully in adverse times.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
At the company’s annual shareholder meeting in July, he acknowledged the challenges the company faces and defended its strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Similarly, Korte, who has reported extensively on the war with Iran, defended the newspaper’s role following her dismissal.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Earlier, Israel's ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, defended the decision, saying "there was no criminal intention" and therefore "no criminal responsibility".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Hernandez has defended Israel’s right to defend itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
She had defended Mayor at first, reminding me that Quisqueya was a gossip and assuring me that Mayor never caused any trouble.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
In June, Carlson announced he would no longer support the Republican Party after decades of defending it.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Asked about defending Taiwan, she rambled about making sure “we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
In interviews aired late Tuesday on Israeli television, Huckabee said the United States was committed to defending its own citizens.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Can any City Section team beat defending champion Carson?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
If I had truly paid attention, I might have realized that our tiny country had absolutely no hope of defending itself, not when bigger countries like Poland had already fallen.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
