defence
Americannoun
noun
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resistance against danger, attack, or harm; protection
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a person or thing that provides such resistance
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a plea, essay, speech, etc, in support of something; vindication; justification
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a country's military measures or resources
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( as modifier )
defence spending
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law a defendant's denial of the truth of the allegations or charge against him
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law the defendant and his legal advisers collectively Compare prosecution
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sport
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the action of protecting oneself, one's goal, or one's allotted part of the playing area against an opponent's attacks
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the method of doing this
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the players in a team whose function is to do this
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American football (usually preceded by the)
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the team that does not have possession of the ball
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the members of a team that play in such circumstances
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psychoanal See defence mechanism
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(plural) fortifications
Other Word Forms
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:
Explanation
This word does NOT mean taking down a fence; it is the British spelling of "defense" — a word that means the act of protecting or defending. Wearing garlic around your neck might be your defence against vampires. Defence can be verbal as well as physical. If you're in court charged with a crime, you (and your lawyer, if you have one) are called "the defence." If your only defence is that you were sleepwalking when you robbed a gas station, you might be going away for awhile. If you play defence in a team sport, your main job is to keep the other team from scoring (so stay wide awake).
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:
The Japanese military has mobilised 3,600 personnel for disaster relief operations and sent 20 aircraft to assess the damage from the air, the defence minister said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
It has felt impossible for fans and pundits to defend the fact the club had only one new face through the door less than a week before their Premiership title defence begins.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
He didn't want to give much away about where he was going to find extra billions for defence, or pay for public services.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Is 'special talent' Jacquet the future of Liverpool's defence?
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
If he had become employed by their enemies, they would have had no defence, and if they had kept him on, they would have been obliged to obey him.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
And the town of Plassenburg under Karl the Prince is a defenced city, set in a strong province, content and united.
From Red Axe by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
Crichton Castle was much more a defenced château and less a feudal stronghold than Thrieve.
From The Black Douglas by Richards, Frank
Meanwhile Ralegh's fleet had arrived at Gomera, "one of the strongest and best defenced places of all the islands, and the best port; the town being seated upon the very wash of the sea."
From Great Ralegh by Selincourt, Hugh de
That the weather being calm, he rowed round me several times, observed my windows and wire-lattices that defenced them.
From Gulliver's Travels Into Several Remote Regions of the World by Balliet, Thomas M.
My life is twisted in a Thread with thine; Were't not defenced, there could nothing come To make this cheeke looke pale, which at your Eye Will not fall dead before you.—
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 2 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)
"Father Marcelo has been a symbol of resistance and support in Chiapas, defencing the dignity, the rights of the people, and the construction of an authentic peace," the Jesuit Order said.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2024
Then there was fencing and defencing, for nothing could stand against the King's persistent rancor, and Cecil's dissimulation.
From Thomas Hariot, the Mathematician, the Philosopher and the Scholar by Stevens, Henry
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.
