Adjacent Words

Defense definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEFENSE, n.
1. Any thing that opposes attack, violence, danger or injury; any thing that secures the person, the rights or the possessions of men; fortification; guard; protection; security. A wall, a parapet, a ditch, or a garrison, is the defense of a city or fortress. The Almighty is the defense of the righteous. Psalms 1ix.
2. Vindication; justification; apology; that which repels or disproves a charge or accusation.
Men, brethren, fathers, hear ye my defense. Acts 22.
3. In law, the defendants reply to the plaintiffs declaration, demands or charges.
4. Prohibition.
5. Resistance; opposition.
6. The science of defending against enemies; military skill.
7. In fortification, a work that flanks another.
DEFENSE, v.t. To defend by fortification.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program" [syn: defense, defence, defensive measure]
2: protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease" [syn: defense, defence]
3: (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense" [syn: defense, defence, defending team] [ant: offence, offense]
4: the justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory" [syn: defense, defence, vindication]
5: (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires [syn: defense mechanism, defense reaction, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defence]
6: the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the United States; created in 1947 [syn: Department of Defense, Defense Department, United States Department of Defense, Defense, DoD]
7: the defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial" [syn: defense, defence, defense team, defense lawyers] [ant: prosecution]
8: the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions; "his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive"; "in defense he said the other man started it" [syn: refutation, defense, defence]
9: an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion" [syn: defense, defence, defense force, defence force]
10: a structure used to defend against attack; "the artillery battered down the defenses" [syn: defensive structure, defense, defence]
11: a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him; "he gave evidence for the defense" [syn: defense, defence, denial, demurrer] [ant: criminal prosecution, prosecution]
12: the act of defending someone or something against attack or injury; "a good boxer needs a good defense"; "defense against hurricanes is an urgent problem" [syn: defense, defence]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin defensa vengeance, from Latin, feminine of defensus, past participle of defendere Date: 14th century 1. a. the act or action of defending <the defense of our country> <speak out in defense of justice> b. a defendant's denial, answer, or plea 2. a. capability of resisting attack b. defensive play or ability <a player known for good defense> 3. a. means or method of defending or protecting oneself, one's team, or another; also a defensive structure b. an argument in support or justification c. the collected facts and method adopted by a defendant to protect and defend against a plaintiff's action d. a sequence of moves available in chess to the second player in the opening 4. a. a defending party or group (as in a court of law) <the defense rests> b. a defensive team 5. the military and industrial aggregate that authorizes and supervises arms production <appropriations for defense> <defense contract> • defenseless adjective • defenselessly adverb • defenselessness noun II. transitive verb (defensed; defensing) Date: 1950 to take specific defensive action against (an opposing team or player or an offensive play)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

US var. of DEFENCE.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Defense De*fense", Defence De*fence", n. [F. d['e]fense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. LL. defensum), from defendere. See Defend, and cf. Fence.] 1. The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. In cases of defense 't is best to weigh The enemy more mighty than he seems. --Shak. 2. That which defends or protects; anything employed to oppose attack, ward off violence or danger, or maintain security; a guard; a protection. War would arise in defense of the right. --Tennyson. God, the widow's champion and defense. --Shak. 3. Protecting plea; vindication; justification. Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense. --Acts xxii. 1. 4. (Law) The defendant's answer or plea; an opposing or denial of the truth or validity of the plaintiff's or prosecutor's case; the method of proceeding adopted by the defendant to protect himself against the plaintiff's action. 5. Act or skill in making defense; defensive plan or policy; practice in self defense, as in fencing, boxing, etc. A man of great defense. --Spenser. By how much defense is better than no skill. --Shak. 6. Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance. [Obs.] Severe defenses . . . against wearing any linen under a certain breadth. --Sir W. Temple.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Defense De*fense", v. t. To furnish with defenses; to fortify. [Obs.] [Written also defence.] Better manned and more strongly defensed. --Hales.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

see defence

Moby Thesaurus

aegis, answer, apologetic, apologetics, apologia, apology, arch dam, argument, argumentation, armament, armor, arms, backfire, backstop, bamboo curtain, bank, bar, barrage, barrier, bear-trap dam, beaver dam, bicker, bickering, boom, breakwater, breastwork, brick wall, buffer, bulkhead, bulwark, casuistry, cofferdam, comeback, confutation, contention, contraremonstrance, controversy, counteraccusation, counterattack, counterblast, counterblow, countercharge, counterclaim, counterfire, counterinsurgency, countermeasure, counterreply, counterrevolution, counterstatement, counterstep, counterstroke, cover, dam, demurrer, denial, dike, disputation, dispute, ditch, earthwork, embankment, exception, exculpation, excuse, explanation, eye, fastness, fence, flyting, fort, fortress, gate, gravity dam, groin, guard, hassle, hubbub, hydraulic-fill dam, iron curtain, jam, jetty, justification, leaping weir, lee, levee, litigation, logjam, logomachy, milldam, moat, mole, mound, munitions, objection, paper war, parapet, passage of arms, plea, pleading, pleadings, polemic, polemics, portcullis, preservation, protection, protective custody, rampart, rationalization, rebuttal, rebutter, refuge, refutation, rejoinder, replication, reply, response, retort, return, rhubarb, riposte, roadblock, rock-fill dam, safeguard, safekeeping, safety, seawall, security, set-to, shade, shadow, shelter, shield, shutter dam, special demurrer, special pleading, statement of defense, stone wall, stronghold, surrebuttal, surrebutter, surrejoinder, verbal engagement, wall, war of words, ward, watchful eye, weaponry, weapons, weir, wicket dam, work, wrangling