defence /di-fensˈ/ or N American defense /dēˈfens/

1. (an act of) defending
2. Capability or means of resisting an attack
3. Protection
4. A protective piece of armour
5. Vindication, justification (for an action, etc)
6. A defendant's plea or argument (law)
7. The defending party in legal proceedings
8. The members of a (football, hockey, etc) team whose role is to prevent the other team from scoring

defencedˈ adjective

Fortified

defenceˈless adjective

defenceˈlessly adverb

defenceˈlessness noun

defend /di-fendˈ/ transitive verb

1. To keep off anything hurtful from
2. To guard or protect
3. To maintain against attack
4. To prohibit, forbid (obsolete)
5. To ward off
6. To resist (eg a claim) (law)
7. To act as a lawyer for (a defending party)
8. To contest

To have, and act on, the responsibility for preventing scoring

defendˈable adjective

That may be defended

defendˈant noun

1. A defender
2. A person accused or sued (law)

defendˈed adjective

1. Guarded
2. Protected
3. Maintained against attack
4. Forbidden (obsolete; Milton)

defendˈer noun

1. A person who defends
2. A player who defends the goal, etc
3. The holder of a championship, etc who seeks to maintain his or her title
4. A person who accepts a challenge (obsolete)
5. A person sued or accused (Scots law)
6. (in pl; with cap) an Irish Roman Catholic society formed at the end of the 18c in opposition to the Peep-o'-day Boys and the Orangemen (historical)

Defendˈerism noun (esp historical)

The policies of the Defenders

defenˈsative noun (obsolete)

A protection

defensibilˈity noun

defensˈible adjective

Capable of being defended

defensˈibly adverb

defensˈive adjective

1. Defending
2. Cautious, attempting to justify one's actions
3. In a state or posture of defence

1. That which defends
2. Posture of defence

defensˈively adverb

defens'iveness noun

defenceˈman or (esp N American) defenseˈman noun

(in ice-hockey and lacrosse) a player (other than the goalkeeper) who defends the goal

defence mechanism noun

1. An unconscious mental process by which an individual excludes ideas or experiences painful or unacceptable to him or her (psychiatry)
2. A response by the body, an organism, etc in reaction to harmful organisms, predators, etc

defender of the faith

A title held by the sovereigns of England since Henry VIII, on whom it was conferred in 1521 for his book against Luther

stand or be on the defensive

To be in the position of defending oneself, not attacking

• tiller-chains
• tillered
• tillering
• tillerless
• tiller-rope
• tillers
• tilley-valley
• tillier
• tilliest
• tilling
• tillings
• tillite
• tillites
• tills
• till the cows come home
• tilly
• tilly-fally
• tilly-vally
• til oil
• tils
• til seed
• til seeds
• tilt
• tiltable
• tilt at the ring