defense

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• Received-Pronunciation, US: /dɪˈfɛns/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• US, often: /ˈdiːˌfɛns/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ɛns
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• CMU ARPABET: D IH0 F EH1 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun.

From Middle English defencen, defensen, from Old French defenser or its etymon, Latin dēfēnsō.

223 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Afrikaans: verdediging — action of protecting from attack
• Albanian: mbrojtje — action of protecting from attack
• Arabic: دِفَاع (difāʕ) — action of protecting from attack
• Arabic: حِمَايَة (ḥimāya) — action of protecting from attack
• Arabic: مُحَافَظَة (muḥāfaẓa) — action of protecting from attack
• Arabic: مُدَافَعَة (mudāfaʕa) — action of protecting from attack
• Armenian: պաշտպանություն (paštpanutʻyun) — action of protecting from attack
• Azerbaijani: müdafiə — action of protecting from attack
• Belarusian: абаро́на (abaróna) — action of protecting from attack
• Belarusian: ахо́ва (axóva) — action of protecting from attack
• Bengali: রক্ষা (rokkha) — action of protecting from attack
• Bengali: প্রতিরক্ষা (protirokkha) — action of protecting from attack
• Bulgarian: защи́та (zaštíta) — action of protecting from attack
• Bulgarian: отбра́на (otbrána) — action of protecting from attack
• Burmese: ကာကွယ်ရေး (ka-kwaire:) — action of protecting from attack
• Catalan: defensa — action of protecting from attack
• Chinese Cantonese: 防禦 /防御 (fong4 jyu6) — action of protecting from attack
• Chinese: 防禦 /防御 (zh-min-nan) — action of protecting from attack
• Chinese Mandarin: 防禦 /防御 (fángyù) — action of protecting from attack
• Czech: obrana — action of protecting from attack
• Danish: forsvar — action of protecting from attack
• Dutch: verdediging — action of protecting from attack
• Dutch: weer — action of protecting from attack
• Esperanto: defendo — action of protecting from attack
• Estonian: kaitse — action of protecting from attack
• Faroese: verja — action of protecting from attack
• Finnish: puolustautuminen — action of protecting from attack
• Finnish: puolustus — action of protecting from attack
• French: défense — action of protecting from attack
• West-Frisian: ferdediging — action of protecting from attack
• West-Frisian: definsje — action of protecting from attack
• West-Frisian: war — action of protecting from attack
• Georgian: თავდაცვა (tavdacva) — action of protecting from attack
• Georgian: მოგერიება (mogerieba) — action of protecting from attack
• German: Verteidigung — action of protecting from attack
• German: Wehr — action of protecting from attack
• Greek: άμυνα (ámyna) — action of protecting from attack
• Hebrew: הֲגָנָה \ הֲגַנָּה (hagana) — action of protecting from attack
• Hindi: बचाव (bacāv) — action of protecting from attack
• Hindi: रक्षा (rakṣā) — action of protecting from attack
• Hungarian: védelem — action of protecting from attack
• Hungarian: védekezés — action of protecting from attack
• Hungarian: védés — action of protecting from attack
• Icelandic: vörn — action of protecting from attack
• Ido: defenso — action of protecting from attack
• Indonesian: pertahanan — action of protecting from attack
• Irish: cosaint — action of protecting from attack
• Italian: difesa — action of protecting from attack
• Japanese: 防御 (bōgyo) — action of protecting from attack
• Japanese: 防禦 (bōgyo) — action of protecting from attack
• Kazakh: қорғаныс (qorğanys) — action of protecting from attack
• Kazakh: қорғану (qorğanu) — action of protecting from attack
• Khmer: ការពារ (kaa piə) — action of protecting from attack
• Korean: 방어 (bang'eo) — action of protecting from attack
• Central Kurdish: بەرگْری (bergirî) — action of protecting from attack
• Kyrgyz: коргонуу (korgonuu) — action of protecting from attack
• Kyrgyz: коргоо (korgoo) — action of protecting from attack
• Lao: ການຫ້າມປາມ (kān hām pām) — action of protecting from attack
• Latin: dēfēnsiō — action of protecting from attack
• Latvian: aizsardzība — action of protecting from attack
• Lithuanian: gynyba — action of protecting from attack
• Macedonian: одбрана (odbrana) — action of protecting from attack
• Malay: pertahanan — action of protecting from attack
• Māori: waonga — action of protecting from attack
• Mauritian Creole: defans — action of protecting from attack
• Mongolian: сэргийлэл (sergiilel) — action of protecting from attack
• Norman: d'fense — action of protecting from attack
• Norwegian Bokmål: forsvar — action of protecting from attack
• Norwegian Nynorsk: forsvar — action of protecting from attack
• Occitan: defensa — action of protecting from attack
• Old English: bewering — action of protecting from attack
• Pashto: دفاع (defā') — action of protecting from attack
• Iranian Persian: دِفاع (defâ') — action of protecting from attack
• Iranian Persian: پَدافَنْد (padâfand) — action of protecting from attack
• Iranian Persian: حِمایَت (hemâyat) — action of protecting from attack
• Iranian Persian: مُحافَظَت (mohâfazat) — action of protecting from attack
• Iranian Persian: مُدافِعِه (modâfe'e) — action of protecting from attack
• Polish: obrona — action of protecting from attack
• Portuguese: defesa — action of protecting from attack
• Quechua: amachay — action of protecting from attack
• Romanian: apărare — action of protecting from attack
• Russian: оборо́на (oboróna) — action of protecting from attack
• Russian: защи́та (zaščíta) — action of protecting from attack
• Serbo-Croatian: о̏дбрана — action of protecting from attack
• Serbo-Croatian: о̏брана — action of protecting from attack
• Serbo-Croatian: ȍdbrana — action of protecting from attack
• Serbo-Croatian: ȍbrana — action of protecting from attack
• Sinhalese: ආරක්ෂක (ārakṣaka) — action of protecting from attack
• Slovak: obrana — action of protecting from attack
• Slovene: obramba — action of protecting from attack
• Spanish: defensa — action of protecting from attack
• Swedish: försvar — action of protecting from attack
• Swedish: värn — action of protecting from attack
• Tagalog: depensa — action of protecting from attack
• Tajik: дифоъ (difo') — action of protecting from attack
• Tajik: мудофиа (mudofia) — action of protecting from attack
• Tajik: ҳимоя (himoya) — action of protecting from attack
• Tajik: муҳофиза (muhofiza) — action of protecting from attack
• Tajik: муҳофизат (muhofizat) — action of protecting from attack
• Thai: การป้องกัน (gaan-bpɔ̂ng-gan) — action of protecting from attack
• Turkish: savunma — action of protecting from attack
• Turkish: koruma — action of protecting from attack
• Turkish: sıyanet — action of protecting from attack
• Ottoman Turkish: صیانت (sıyanet) — action of protecting from attack
• Ukrainian: оборо́на (oboróna) — action of protecting from attack
• Ukrainian: за́хист (záxyst) — action of protecting from attack
• Urdu: دِفاع (difā') — action of protecting from attack
• Urdu: حِمایَت (himāyat) — action of protecting from attack
• Urdu: رَکْشا (rakśā) — action of protecting from attack
• Urdu: مُدافَعَت (mudāfa'at) — action of protecting from attack
• Urdu: مُحافَظَت (muhāfazat) — action of protecting from attack
• Uyghur: ھىمايە (himaye) — action of protecting from attack
• Uyghur: مۇداپىئە (mudapi'e) — action of protecting from attack
• Uzbek: himoya — action of protecting from attack
• Uzbek: mudofaa — action of protecting from attack
• Vietnamese: phòng thủ — action of protecting from attack
• Vietnamese: phòng ngự — action of protecting from attack
• Vietnamese: phòng vệ — action of protecting from attack
• Vietnamese: bảo vệ — action of protecting from attack
• Yiddish: פֿאַרטיידיקונג (farteydikung) — action of protecting from attack
• Armenian: պաշտպանություն (paštpanutʻyun) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Bulgarian: отбра́на (otbrána) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Bulgarian: отбрани́телни съоръже́ния (otbranítelni sǎorǎžénija) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Catalan: defensa — anything employed to oppose attack
• Catalan: protecció — anything employed to oppose attack
• Chinese Mandarin: 防禦物 /防御物 (fángyùwù) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Czech: obrana — anything employed to oppose attack
• Danish: forsvar — anything employed to oppose attack
• Dutch: verdediging — anything employed to oppose attack
• Dutch: verweer — anything employed to oppose attack
• Faroese: verja — anything employed to oppose attack
• Finnish: puolustus — anything employed to oppose attack
• French: défense — anything employed to oppose attack
• Georgian: თავდაცვა (tavdacva) — anything employed to oppose attack
• German: Verteidigung — anything employed to oppose attack
• Greek: άμυνα (ámyna) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Hebrew: הגנה (hagana) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Hungarian: védelem — anything employed to oppose attack
• Italian: difesa — anything employed to oppose attack
• Central Kurdish: بەرگری (bergrî) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Latin: mūnīmen — anything employed to oppose attack
• Latin: mūnīmentum — anything employed to oppose attack
• Latin: dēfēnsa — anything employed to oppose attack
• Macedonian: одбрана (odbrana) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Māori: whakarurunga — anything employed to oppose attack
• Old English: bewering — anything employed to oppose attack
• Polish: obrona — anything employed to oppose attack
• Portuguese: defesa — anything employed to oppose attack
• Portuguese: escudo — anything employed to oppose attack
• Romanian: apărare — anything employed to oppose attack
• Russian: защи́та (zaščíta) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Russian: оборо́на (oboróna) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Russian: оборони́тельные сооруже́ния (oboronítelʹnyje sooružénija) — anything employed to oppose attack
• Serbo-Croatian: о̏дбрана — anything employed to oppose attack
• Serbo-Croatian: о̏брана — anything employed to oppose attack
• Serbo-Croatian: ȍdbrana — anything employed to oppose attack
• Serbo-Croatian: ȍbrana — anything employed to oppose attack
• Spanish: defensa — anything employed to oppose attack
• Swedish: försvar — anything employed to oppose attack
• Swedish: värn — anything employed to oppose attack
• Vietnamese: phòng thủ — anything employed to oppose attack
• Vietnamese: phòng ngự — anything employed to oppose attack
• Vietnamese: phòng vệ — anything employed to oppose attack
• Armenian: պաշտպանություն (paštpanutʻyun) — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Czech: obrana — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Finnish: puolustus — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Hungarian: védelem — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Hungarian: védekezés — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Portuguese: retranca — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Romanian: apărare — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Vietnamese: phòng thủ — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Vietnamese: phòng ngự — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Vietnamese: phòng vệ — team sports: strategy and tactics
• Arabic: دِفاع (difāʕ) — team sports: portion of a team
• Armenian: պաշտպանություն (paštpanutʻyun) — team sports: portion of a team
• Chinese Mandarin: 防守 (fángshǒu) — team sports: portion of a team
• Czech: obrana — team sports: portion of a team
• Finnish: puolustus — team sports: portion of a team
• Hungarian: védelem — team sports: portion of a team
• Mauritian Creole: defans — team sports: portion of a team
• Romanian: apărare — team sports: portion of a team
• Russian: оборо́на (oboróna) — team sports: portion of a team
• Serbo-Croatian: odbrana — team sports: portion of a team
• Serbo-Croatian: obrana — team sports: portion of a team
• Vietnamese: phòng thủ — team sports: portion of a team
• Vietnamese: phòng ngự — team sports: portion of a team
• Vietnamese: phòng vệ — team sports: portion of a team
• Czech: obrana — argument in support or justification of something
• Dutch: verweer — argument in support or justification of something
• Finnish: puolustus — argument in support or justification of something
• Finnish: puolustelu — argument in support or justification of something
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌾𐍉𐌽𐍃 (sunjōns) — argument in support or justification of something
• Ancient Greek: ἀπολογία (apología) — argument in support or justification of something
• Hungarian: védés — argument in support or justification of something
• Hungarian: védekezés — argument in support or justification of something
• Hungarian: védelem — argument in support or justification of something
• Italian: difesa — argument in support or justification of something
• Macedonian: одбрана (odbrana) — argument in support or justification of something
• Polish: obrona — argument in support or justification of something
• Portuguese: defesa — argument in support or justification of something
• Romanian: apărare — argument in support or justification of something
• Russian: защи́та (zaščíta) — argument in support or justification of something
• Serbo-Croatian: о̏дбрана — argument in support or justification of something
• Serbo-Croatian: о̏брана — argument in support or justification of something
• Serbo-Croatian: ȍdbrana — argument in support or justification of something
• Serbo-Croatian: ȍbrana — argument in support or justification of something
• Spanish: descargo — argument in support or justification of something
• Swedish: försvar — argument in support or justification of something
• Urdu: صَفائی (safāī) — argument in support or justification of something
• Vietnamese: phản biện — argument in support or justification of something
• Arabic: دِفاع (difāʕ) — government policy or structure
• Czech: obrana — government policy or structure
• Finnish: puolustus — government policy or structure
• Finnish: maanpuolustus — government policy or structure
• Georgian: თავდაცვა (tavdacva) — government policy or structure
• Georgian: თავდაცვის სამინისტრო (tavdacvis saminisṭro) — government policy or structure
• Malayalam: പ്രതിരോധം (pratirōdhaṁ) — government policy or structure
• Old English: utwaru — government policy or structure
• Old English: wiþermal — government policy or structure
• Romanian: apărare — government policy or structure
• Russian: оборо́на (oboróna) — government policy or structure
• Czech: zákaz — prohibitory ordinance
• Finnish: kielto — prohibitory ordinance