English Profile

defense · noun

/dəˈfens/Full view

Word family

Nouns: defense, defendant, defender, defensive, defenselessness

Adjectives: defenseless, defensible, indefensible, defensive

Verbs: defend

Adverbs: defensively

defense (PROTECTION)

B1 C or U protection or support against attack, criticism or infection

Dictionary examples:

When Helen criticized me, Chris came/rushed to my defense.

She argued strongly in defense of her actions.

A good diet helps build the body's natural defenses.

Learner example:

I exploded and made quite a speech in defense of reading. (First Certificate in English; B2; Portugese)

defense (SPORTS)

B1 C or U the part of a sports team which tries to prevent the other team from scoring points

Dictionary example:

I'm best playing defense.

Learner example:

They said that I'm good at defense and they want that I be in reserve [for] the competition. (Preliminary English Test; B1; Chinese)

defense (MILITARY)

C1 U the weapons and military forces that a country uses to protect itself against attack

Dictionary examples:

Spending on defense / Defense spending is increasing.

the defense industry

Learner example:

The majority of the government's expenditure went to other things apart from defense, education and health. (International English Language Testing System; C1; English)

the defense

C2 the person or people in a court who are accused of doing a crime, and their lawyer

Dictionary examples:

He was cross-examined by the defense.

a lawyer for the defense / a defense lawyer

Learner example:

He tried to explain that the counsel for the defen[s]e was one of the best old hands in the country but they did not [even] pretend to listen to him. (Certificate of Proficiency in English; C2; Polish)