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Defense   /dɪfˈɛns/   Listen
noun
Defence, Defense  n.  
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."
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." "God, the widow's champion and defense."
3.
Protecting plea; vindication; justification. "Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense."
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." "By how much defense is better than no skill."
6.
Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance. (Obs.) "Severe defenses... against wearing any linen under a certain breadth."


verb
Defense  v. t.  (Written also defence)  To furnish with defenses; to fortify. (Obs.) "Better manned and more strongly defensed."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Defense" Quotes from Famous Books



... casually and once in a great while. In a small place you know fewer people; but you know them intimately." She broke off with a half-laugh. "I'm from New York," she stated humorously, "and you've magicked me into an eloquent defense of Podunk!" She laughed up at Orde quite frankly. "Giant Strides!" she challenged suddenly. She turned off the edge of the sand-hill, and began to plunge down its slope, leaning far back, her arms extended, ...
— The Riverman • Stewart Edward White
... manufacture money, instead of earning it, we virtually license them to take so much of the property of the community as they may happen to fancy, without contributing to it at all—an injustice so enormous that it is incapable of any defense ...
— Great Fortunes from Railroads • Gustavus Myers
... as Defense, which is correct, se or ce for the termination? Se, because the s belongs to the words from which they ...
— 1001 Questions and Answers on Orthography and Reading • B. A. Hathaway
... of the combined forces were the means of giving greater political importance to these Gothic tribes and securing their independence. But while they rose, Rome fell. By the very act of employing such weapons in defense, Rome robbed herself of the little political strength remaining, and she was obliged to accept the ...
— The Revelation Explained • F. Smith
... interest began at once to improve the condition of the settlement. The character of the colonists was also gradually improving. They had not been of a sort to fulfill the earnest desire of the London promoter's to spread vital piety in the New World. A zealous defense of Virginia and Maryland, against "scandalous imputation," entitled "Leah and Rachel; or, The Two Fruitful Sisters," by Mr John Hammond, London, considers the charges that Virginia "is an unhealthy place, ...
— Quotes and Images From The Works of Charles Dudley Warner • Charles Dudley Warner


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