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

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

“Investors are positioning for a world where physical assets matter again: power, grids, data centres, defence, reshoring and electrification all need more energy and materials,” says analysts with eToro in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

In recent weeks, Burnham had suggested the rules might be changed, for example by exempting rises in defence spending as has occurred in Germany to allow for extra spending.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

"Strategically, this will harden Abu Dhabi's view that passive defence is not enough," Krieg said.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

Axel Disasi will presumably return to Chelsea when his loan expires on 30 June despite his good performances in defence.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

Sir Mador decided to save himself the expense of a champion by fighting his own case, and he insisted that Guenever must brief a champion for her defence.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White