: to take specific defensive action against (an opposing team or player or an offensive play) : to attempt to keep (an opponent or play) from scoring in a game or contest
The gangly Pressey was clearly Milwaukee's only real hope of defensing Bird … Jack McCallum
Noun They put up a good defense, but the city ultimately fell to the invaders. They mounted a good defense. The city's defenses were not strong enough to keep out the invaders. We need to improve our defenses. the nation's air and ground defenses
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
At a central market one afternoon this week, two explosions could be heard rumbling in the distance in quick succession, which shoppers identified as Belgorod’s air defense missile systems at work. Evan Gershkovich, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2022 Aiden Luckenbaugh and Zach Maryanski scored in each half, converting set-piece from Cooper Santos, and Century’s defense withstood a sustained second-half rally and late Dulaney goal to power the Knights to a 2-1 win over the host Lions. Colin Murphy, Baltimore Sun, 14 Sep. 2022 Knowles was brought in to fix a defense that’s had one good year since Ryan Day took over as head coach. Stephen Means, cleveland, 14 Sep. 2022 Despite that defense, Amazon's market power has been a subject of scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups calling for stricter antitrust regulations. Haleluya Hadero, ajc, 14 Sep. 2022 On Tuesday, Armenia called on Russia to implement a 1997 defense treaty that stipulates the countries will defend each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in the event of an attack by a foreign country. Tara Subramaniam, CNN, 14 Sep. 2022 Pate was a lifelong resident of Georgia and had more than 25 years of experience in both criminal defense and civil litigation, according to his firm's website. Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2022 The commission was created in the next year’s defense policy bill. Alex Horton, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2022 Stanford had just mounted a seven-minute, 13-play drive, rolling over the Trojans’ defense with relative ease.Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2022
Verb
Dom Ochoa, who made the move from quarterback to just defense this year. Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 9 Sep. 2022 The Eagles deployed him from receiver to cornerback, shifting Prentice to defense one game week when a few players tested positive for COVID-19. Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 7 Sep. 2022 Mickelson was not called to testify; his attorney had told both the prosecution and defense his client would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights. Gene Wang, Washington Post, 15 May 2022 Dorow consented to defense requests to close a portion of the four-hour hearing, an issue to which the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office did not object. Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2022 Not exactly a stellar performance considering Ohio State scored 44 first-half points against a compromised version of that same Hoosiers defense two weeks earlier. Nathan Baird, cleveland, 8 Nov. 2021 Opponents have converted 59% of their third-down plays against Miami, making the Dolphins defense the NFL's worst in those situations. Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Sep. 2021 Only then can defense attorneys and the public challenge the plan, Gilmer said. Ken Ritter, Star Tribune, 20 May 2021 All-American, but the Gators moved the bulky lineman to defense. Adam Lichtenstein, sun-sentinel.com, 28 Apr. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English defense, defence, borrowed from Anglo-French defens, defense, defence, borrowed from Medieval Latin dēfensa, dēfensum (Late Latin dēfensa "vengeance"), nominal derivatives from feminine and neuter of Latin dēfensus, past participle of dēfendere "to ward off, defend"