1. Protection from harm
   "sanitation is the best defense against disease";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn]
    
2. (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";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn], defensive measure
    
3. 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";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn]
    
4. A structure used to defend against attack
   "the artillery battered down the defenses";
   - defensive structure, defence [Brit, Cdn]
    
5. An organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack
   "he joined the defense against invasion";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn], defense force [US], defence force [Brit, Cdn]
    
6. (sport) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring
   "his teams are always good on defense";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn], defending team
    
7. The defendant and their legal advisors collectively
   "the defense called for a mistrial";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn], defense team [US], defense lawyers [US], defence team [Brit, Cdn], defence lawyers [Brit, Cdn]
    
8. (law) a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against them
   "he gave evidence for the defense";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn], denial, demurrer
    
9. The justification for some act or belief
   "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory";
   - defence [Brit, Cdn], vindication, account
    
10. The speech act of answering an attack on your assertions
    "in defense he said the other man started it";
    - refutation, defence [Brit, Cdn]
     
11. (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
    "Repression is a common defense mechanism used to cope with traumatic memories";
    - defense mechanism [US], defense reaction [US], defence mechanism [Brit, Cdn], defence reaction [Brit, Cdn], defence [Brit, Cdn]

1. The federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the United States; created in 1947
   - Department of Defense, Defense Department [US], United States Department of Defense, DoD

Derived forms: defenses

Type of: accumulation, action, aggregation, answer, assemblage, collection, construction, due process, due process of law, executive department, justification, military action, org [informal], organisation [Brit], organization, process, protection, psychoanalytic process, squad, structure, team, unconscious process

Antonym: offense [US]

Part of: trial

Encyclopedia: Defense