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

For him, the future of private air defence lies in drone interceptors -- small unmanned aircraft designed to destroy incoming drones mid-air.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

That is why the defence ministry has opted to partly outsource the task to private actors, including energy companies, frequently targeted by Russian strikes, logistics firms and security groups to protect their sites.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

Hugo Ekitike, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz formed a narrow line between PSG's defence and midfield.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

The South West's defence sector will get £50m to develop maritime drones, create "hundreds of jobs" and boost national security, the government says.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Heartbroken, he said, but as his own father had died in defence of the kingdom, so did his fair maiden.

From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness