Dictionary definition for: Defense
1. (n) (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense"
2. (n) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad" "they were developed for the defense program"
3. (n) the defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial"
4. (n) protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease"
5. (n) a structure used for defense; "the artillery battered down the defenses"
6. (n) 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"
7. (n) the justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory"
8. (n) a defendant''s answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him; "he gave evidence for the defense"
9. (n) an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion"
10. (n) the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the UnitedStates; created in 1947
11. (n) (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.
