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defense

noun
/dɪˈfɛns/UK/ˈdiːˌfɛns/US

Etymology

From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun.

  1. derived from dēfēnsa — “protection”
  2. derived from defens
  3. inherited from defens

Definitions

  1. The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury.

  2. Anything employed to oppose attack(s).

  3. An argument in support or justification of something.

    • to come to someone's defense
  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military.

      • Department of Defense

    2. A prohibition

      A prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance.

    3. To employ defensive tactics (so as to block).

      • In fact, there is an increase in the effectiveness of the Five Cutter Offense when teams put pressure on, instead of sagging or switching in an attempt to defense the attack successfully.
      • But the Buffs’ coaching staff made some adjustments in the way they defensed the Heights’ vaunted veer-option offense, and after being bullied around for 271 yards in the first half, yielded only 140 in the second half.
      • “It was most important to start the second half right,” Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall said. “They dug in and defensed the right way.”

    4. To furnish with defenses

      To furnish with defenses; to defend, protect.

      • In the ſyege of greate cities, takyng a bygge compaſſe rounde abowte, we muſt wyth all laboure: make and intercut not farre of the citie, bꝛode and depe trenches defenſed wyth turrettes of woodde, […]
      • VVhere being plaſt, vnvviſt of any vvight, / He ſtayde his time, till husband fel on ſleepe, / Then out he gate, defenſt vvith darke of night, / And ſoftly to Salueſtras bed did creepe: […]
      • The Country of Britain was in old times adorned with 28 Cities, beſide innumerable number of Caſtles defenſed with ſtrong Walls, Towers, Gates and Locks.

The neighborhood

Derived

air defense, air-defense, antidefense, anti-slut defense, Apartheid Defense League, attack is the best form of defense, biodefense, black rage defense, chemical defense, Chewbacca defense, civil defense, counterdefense, cyberdefense, DEFCON, defense attorney, defense in abatement, defense-independent pitching statistics, defense in depth, defense lawyer, defenseless, defense mechanism, defense wound, defensin, defensive, defensiveness, eco-defense, ecodefense, gay panic defense, homosexual panic defense, immunodefense, man-to-man defense, Matrix defense, misdefense, nondefense, Nuremberg defense, orbital defense platform, Pac-Man defense, personal defense weapon, prevent defense, self-defense · +9 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at defense. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01defense02attack03worth04worthwhile05enough06positive07included08enclosed09wall

A definitional loop anchored at defense. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at defense

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA