the act or an instance of defending
a means or method of defending
an argument in support or justification
a defendant's denial, answer, or strategy
(in pl) a defensive structure
(treated as sing. or pl)
a defending party or group, e.g. in a court of law
in sport, defendingdefensive players, acts, or moves in a game or sport
the military resources of a country
defenceless adj
defencelessly adv
defencelessness noun
[Middle English via Old French from Latin defensa, fem past part. of defendere: see defend]