defend
[dih-fend]
- to ward off attack from; guard against assault or injury (usually followed by from or against): The sentry defended the gate against sudden attack.
- to maintain by argument, evidence, etc.; uphold: She defended her claim successfully.
- 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.
- to attempt to retain (a championship title, position, etc.), as in a competition against a challenger.
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- Law. to enter or make a defense.
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Origin of defend
1200–50; Middle English defenden < Old French defendre < Latin dēfendere to ward off, equivalent to dē- de- + -fendere to strike
Synonyms
See more synonyms for defend on Thesaurus.com1. shelter, screen, shield; garrison, fortify. 2. vindicate.
Synonym study
1. 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.
Antonyms
1. attack.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for well-defended
Historical Examples
This also leads by a lesser drawbridge into the well-defended town.
A Lady's Tour in Corsica, Vol. II (of 2)Gertrude Forde
In the front of the enclosure, and towards the river, is the well-defended principal entrance, with a large folding gate.
Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843)Alexander Philipp Maximilian, Prince of Wied
Finding it impossible to take such a strong and well-defended position by storm, the white colonel withdrew his forces.
The adventures of Kimble BentJames Cowan
Would that with the fall of that well-defended city the sad detail of "siege and slaughter" closed!
Doubtless he regretted having left the well-defended brigades of the fur companies to hunt alone in the wilderness.
The Story of the TrapperA. C. Laut
well-defended
- having sufficient defences against attack
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defend
- 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
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French defendre, from Latin dēfendere to ward off, from de- + -fendere to strike
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for well-defended
defend
v.
mid-13c., from Old French defendre (12c.) "defend, resist," and directly from Latin defendere "ward off, protect, guard, allege in defense," from de- "from, away" (see de-) + -fendere "to strike, push," from PIE root *gwhen- "to strike, kill" (see bane). In the Mercian hymns, Latin defendet is glossed by Old English gescildeð. Related: Defended; defending.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper