About The Word Defense

Bay Area Crosswords

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Defense

Defense Meaning & Definition
Defense Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Defense?

[n] protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease"
[n] military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program"
[n] a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him; "he gave evidence for the defense"
[n] a structure used for defense; "the artillery battered down the defenses"
[n] the justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory"
[n] 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"
[n] an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion"
[n] the defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial"
[n] the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense"
[n] the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security; created in 1947
[n] (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires

Synonyms | Synonyms for Defense: defence | defence | defence | defence | defence | defence force | defence mechanism | defence reaction | defending team | Defense Department | defense force | defense lawyers | defense mechanism | defense reaction | defense team | defensive measure | defensive structure | demurrer | denial | Department of Defense | DoD | refutation | vindication

Related Terms | Find terms related to Defense: 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

See Also | accumulation | action | aggregation | air defense | alibi | answer | apologia | apology | assemblage | bastion | biological warfare defense | BW defense | chemical defence | chemical defense | cheval-de-frise | chevaux-de-frise | collection | compensation | confutation | construction | conversion | deliberate defence | deliberate defense | denial | displacement | due process | due process of law | entrapment | exculpation | excuse | executive department | fastness | fort | fortification | fortress | hasty defence | hasty defense | idealisation | idealization | intellectualisation | intellectualization | isolation | justification | line of defence | line of defense | military action | minelaying | mining | munition | organisation | organization | outwork | process | projection | protection | psychoanalytic process | rationalisation | rationalization | reaction formation | rebuttal | regression | repression | self-justification | squad | stand | stronghold | structure | team | trial | umbrella | unconscious process

Defense In Webster's Dictionary

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

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