different between defense vs defend

English

Alternative forms

• defence (British)

Etymology

From French défense, itself from Late Latin d?fensa (“protection”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /d??f?ns/
• (sports): (US, often) IPA^(key): /?di??f?ns/
• Rhymes: -?ns

Noun

defense (countable and uncountable, plural defenses) (American spelling)

1. The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury.
2. Anything employed to oppose attack(s).
   1. (team sports) A strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offense.
   2. (team sports) The portion of a team dedicated to preventing the other team from scoring; contrasted with offense.
3. An argument in support or justification of something.
   1. (law, by extension) The case presented by the defendant in a legal proceeding.
   2. (law, by extension) The lawyer or team thereof who presents such a case.
4. (government, military) Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military.

   Department of Defense

5. (obsolete) A prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:defense

Antonyms

• offense

Derived terms

Translations

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /de??fen.se/, [d?e??f??s??]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /de?fen.se/, [d???f?ns?]

Participle

d?f?nse

1. vocative masculine singular of d?f?nsus

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de?fense/, [d?e?f?n.se]

Verb

defense

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of defensar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of defensar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of defensar.
4. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of defensar.

English

Etymology

From Middle English defenden, from Old French deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin d?fend? (“to ward off”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *g??en-.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??f?nd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d??f?nd/, /di?f?nd/, /d??f?nd/
• Rhymes: -?nd

Verb

defend (third-person singular simple present defends, present participle defending, simple past and past participle defended)

1. (transitive) To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect; to guard.
2. (transitive) To support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.
3. (transitive, law) To make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).
4. (sports) To focus one's energies and talents on preventing opponents from scoring, as opposed to focusing on scoring.
5. (sports) To attempt to retain a title, or attempt to reach the same stage in a competition as one did in the previous edition of that competition.
6. (poker slang) To call a raise from the big blind.
7. (transitive, obsolete) To ward off, repel (an attack or attacker).
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:

     The vertue is, that neither steele, nor stone / The stroke thereof from entrance may defend […].

8. (transitive, obsolete) To prevent, to keep (from doing something).
9. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To prohibit, forbid.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:defend

Antonyms

• attack

Related terms

• defender
• defense, defence
• defensive

Translations

Anagrams

• fended