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defence

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced Old English bewering.

Noun

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defence (countable and uncountable, plural defences) (British spelling)

  1. The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.
  2. Something used to oppose attacks.
    • 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 12”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
      And nothing ’gainst Time’s scythe can make defence
      Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.
    • 2021 July 28, Louise Grimmer, Gary Mortimer, Martin Grimmer, “Vaccine selfies may seem trivial, but they show people doing their civic duty — and probably encourage others too”, in The Conversation‎[1], archived from the original on 19 August 2021:
      As governments and health officials continue to flip-flop on vaccine age requirements, and anti-vaxxers spread falsehoods through social media and protests, the vaxxie might just be a powerful line of defence against vaccine hesitancy.
  3. An argument in support or justification of something.
  4. (team sports) A strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
    • 2012 June 9, Owen Phillips, “Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark”, in BBC Sport‎[3], archived from the original on 9 September 2025:
      But the Danes remained resolute in defence - largely thanks to a spirited display by captain Daniel Agger - and they went ahead with their first meaningful attack.
  5. (team sports) The portion of a team dedicated to preventing the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
    • 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in The Telegraph‎[4], archived from the original on 5 December 2012:
      The most persistent tormentor was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored a hat-trick in last month’s corresponding fixture in Iceland. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.
  6. Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military.
    Department of Defence
  7. (obsolete) Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance.
    • 1673, William Temple, “An Essay upon the Advancement of Trade in Ireland” in Miscellanea, London: Edw[ard] Gellibrand, 1680, p. 116,[5]
      […] severe defences may be made against weaving any Linnen under a certain breadth, such as may be of better use to the poorest People […]
Usage notes
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  • The noun spelling is mainly used in the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand; defense is more commonly used in the US.
Synonyms
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Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English defencen, defensen, from Old French defenser[1] or its etymon, Latin dēfēnsō.[2]

Verb

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defence (third-person singular simple present defences, present participle defencing, simple past and past participle defenced)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To furnish with defences; to fortify.
    • 1656, John Hales, Dixi Custodiam:
      Better manned and more strongly defenced.

References

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  1. ^ “dēfensen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “defence | defense, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
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