Synonyms

defend

American

[dih-fend] / dɪˈfɛnd /

verb (used with object)

to ward off attack from; guard against assault or injury (usually followed by from oragainst ).

The sentry defended the gate against sudden attack.

Synonyms:

fortify, garrison, shield, screen, shelter

Antonyms:

attack
to maintain by argument, evidence, etc.; uphold.

She defended her claim successfully.

Synonyms:

vindicate
to contest (a legal charge, claim, etc.).
Law. to serve as attorney for (a defendant).

He has defended some of the most notorious criminals.
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.
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)

Law. to enter or make a defense.
Sports. to prevent the opposing team from scoring.

She’s a freshman who already scores and defends like a professional.

defend British

/ dɪˈfɛnd /

verb

to protect (a person, place, etc) from harm or danger; ward off an attack on
(tr) to support in the face of criticism, esp by argument or evidence
to represent (a defendant) in court in a civil or criminal action
sport to guard or protect (oneself, one's goal, etc) against attack
(tr) to protect (a championship or title) against a challenge

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing defend

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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:

defend defends defended defending

“I aggressively defend the status quo, and I’m fine with exploding rents and mass displacement.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

On its face, the law is designed to protect people who defend themselves against a threat.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Meta is "confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts," Meta told AFP in a statement Thursday.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Earlier Monday, Mamdani said at a press conference he would defend the tax against the lawsuit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Not because of Zeke, who would very happily defend Daniel from any attack, but because Alicia was always there first.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

He explains his interpretive method and defends it against a hostile biographer—and his high-school English teacher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 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

“He defends well,” said Eubanks, a 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

When Stephen’s mom tries to blame me again, my mom defends me.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

Abbott’s spokesperson in a statement Friday defended the policy move as necessary because less than 10% of data centers responded to the state’s requests for them to report their power and water usage.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Newsnight, Hunter Biden defended the controversial pardon, revealed his father's "painful" cancer has spread, ruled out seeking elected office and spoke about helping others recover from addiction.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

David Chesnoff, who was part of the legal team that defended Robert Durst during his Los Angeles murder trial, appeared on Cloobeck’s behalf.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

The 48-year-old lawyer has defended underworld figures, among them Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman whom U.S. officials accuse of laundering money for then-Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Germany’s war plan was to sweep across Belgium and invade France from the weakly defended north.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

German Owen Ansah completed the podium after Italy's two-time defending champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs pulled up with an injury at halfway.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The legal system treated Fraser as a victim, a man simply defending himself from an unprovoked attack.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

When queried by AFP about the Washington Post report, the White House sent a statement defending the new plane's safety.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

The first shock was the crumbling of the defending champ Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, who showed early signs that she wasn’t her expected top form, and then withered sadly in a time-trial stage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

I said at last, assuming he would be able to pick up from the tone of my voice that I was talking about him not defending his brother at the party.

From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds

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