Noun
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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"
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protection from harm
"sanitation is the best defense against disease"
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(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"
- defensive measure -
a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him
"he gave evidence for the defense"
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a structure used to defend against attack
"the artillery battered down the defenses"
- defensive structure -
the justification for some act or belief
"he offered a persuasive defense of the theory"
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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"
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an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack
"he joined the defense against invasion"
- defense force - defence force -
the defendant and his legal advisors collectively
"the defense called for a mistrial"
- defense team - defense lawyers -
(sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring
"his teams are always good on defense"
- defending team -
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
- defense mechanism - defense reaction - defence mechanism - defence reaction