• protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease"
• military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program"
• a defendant''s answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him; "he gave evidence for the defense"
• a structure used for defense; "the artillery battered down the defenses"
• the justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory"
• the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions; "his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive"; "in defense he said the other man started it"
• an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion"
• the defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial"
• (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense"
• (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires

'Defence' in other languages