Join Us On

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Spanish Central

Browse Dictionary Browse Thesaurus

Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android

Word of the Day

Blog: Words at Play

Dictionary

defence

,

defenceman

de·fence, de·fence·man

Definition of DEFENCE

chiefly British variant of defense, defenseman

ADVERTISEMENT

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

DEFENCEMAN Defined for Kids

defence

de·fence

Definition of DEFENCE for Kids

chiefly British variant of defense

Learn More About DEFENCE

Nglish: Translation of "defence" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "defence" for Arabic speakers

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: defendPrevious Word in the Dictionary: defeminizeAll Words Near: defence

ADVERTISEMENT

Seen & Heard

What made you want to look up defence? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

View Seen & Heard Highlights from Around the Site

Test Your Vocabulary!

10 Charming Words for Nasty People

Put-downs with flair

When "Literally" isn't, well, literal

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

Know what this is?

Test your vocab with our fun, fast game

Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears

Join Us

Merriam-Webster
on Facebook

Merriam-Webster
on Twitter

Bookstore: Digital and Print

Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.

See All

Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries

© Merriam-Webster, Incorporated