0 protection or support against attack, criticism, or infection:
The rebels' only form of defence against the soldiers' guns was sticks and stones.
The war has ended but government spending on defence (= the country's armed forces) is still increasing.
When Helen criticized me, Chris came/rushed to my defence (= quickly supported me).
The book is a closely argued defence of (= something that supports) the economic theory of Keynes.
The towers were once an important part of the city's defences.
1 an argument or explanation that you use to prove that you are not guilty of something:
2 in some sports, the part of a team that tries to prevent the other team from scoring goals or points:
3 in the game of chess, a particular set of moves used by the person playing with the black pieces:
What defence did you use in that last game?
4 an argument or explanation which you use to prove that you are not guilty of something:
5 the person or people in a law case who have been accused of doing something illegal, and the lawyer or lawyers who are representing them:
6 a method used by a company to avoid having another company take control of it:
Whenever anyone criticizes her husband, she immediately jumps to his defence.
They have been strengthening their border defences in preparation for war.
What remains is to argue for (3) and discuss the upshot of this defence.
They took charge of day-to-day administration and defence planning.
Only then need the lawyer start to think about the nature of any kind of defence strategy.
