defence, n.
(defences)
(defences)
the act of defending someone or something against attack or injury
<noun.act>
defence defense
sample sentences
"a good boxer needs a good defense""defense against hurricanes is an urgent problem"
semantic pointers
hypernym
protection from harm
<noun.act> freq. cnt.: 9 freq. cnt.: 9
defence defense
sample sentences
"sanitation is the best defense against disease"
semantic pointers
hypernym
(military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies
<noun.act> freq. cnt.: 17 freq. cnt.: 17
defence defense defensive measure
sample sentences
"they died in the defense of Stalingrad""they were developed for the defense program"
semantic pointers
hyponym
umbrella
air defense
stand
hasty defense, hasty defence
deliberate defense, deliberate defence
biological defense, biological defence, biodefense, biodefence
chemical defense, chemical defence
mining, minelaying
biological warfare defense, biological warfare defence, BW defense, BW defence
hypernym
domain of synset (topic)
a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him
<noun.act>
defence defense demurrer denial
sample sentences
"he gave evidence for the defense"
lexical pointers
antonym
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
semantic pointers
hypernym
part holonym
domain of synset (topic)
hyponym
a structure used to defend against attack
<noun.artifact>
defence defense defensive structure
sample sentences
"the artillery battered down the defenses"
semantic pointers
hyponym
chevaux-de-frise, cheval-de-frise
fortification, munition
fortress, fort
line of defense, line of defence
outwork
stronghold, fastness
hypernym
the justification for some act or belief
<noun.communication> freq. cnt.: 2 freq. cnt.: 2
defence defense vindication
sample sentences
"he offered a persuasive defense of the theory"
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
semantic pointers
hypernym
hyponym
the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions
<noun.communication> freq. cnt.: 1 freq. cnt.: 1
defence defense refutation
sample sentences
"his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive""in defense he said the other man started it"
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack
<noun.group>
defence defence force defense defense force
sample sentences
"he joined the defense against invasion"
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
the defendant and his legal advisors collectively
<noun.group> freq. cnt.: 1 freq. cnt.: 1
defence defense defense lawyers defense team
sample sentences
"the defense called for a mistrial"
lexical pointers
antonym
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
semantic pointers
hypernym
(sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring
<noun.group> freq. cnt.: 2 freq. cnt.: 2
defence defending team defense
sample sentences
"his teams are always good on defense"
lexical pointers
antonym
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
<noun.process> freq. cnt.: 1 freq. cnt.: 1
defence defence mechanism defence reaction defense defense mechanism defense reaction
semantic pointers
hypernym
domain of synset (topic)
hyponym