Defense

How to spell defense

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce defense

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does defense mean?

1. nounThe action of protecting someone or something from attack, harm, or criticism.
2. nounIn team sports, the players or tactics tasked with stopping the opposing side from scoring.

Defense in a sentence

• The city spent millions on flood defense for the riverfront.

• The coach drilled the team on defense for most of the practice.

• A strong immune system is the body's first defense against infection.

• Their defense held firm through the final two minutes of the game.

Where does defense come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb defendere, meaning 'to ward off' or 'to protect', formed from de- ('off, away') and fendere ('to strike or hit'). The same fendere root sits behind 'offend' and 'fence', the latter being a clipped form of 'defence' itself. Latin produced the noun defensa, 'a thing warded off', which passed into Old French as defens and defense, and English borrowed it in the 1300s. For centuries British and American writers spelled it with a final -ce, but American usage settled on the -se ending in the nineteenth century, partly under the influence of related forms like 'defensive' and 'defensible', which carry an audible s sound. That is the heart of the modern spelling trap: this American form ends in -se, while the British and Canadian standard keeps -ce.

How the word is built

• de- (off, away)
• fens (from Latin fendere: to strike, ward off)
• -e

British and American spelling

Defense is the American spelling. British English spells it defence.