defend Meaning & Definition
What Does Defend Mean?
Defend is used as a verb meaning to drive danger or attack away from. It is also used to mean to maintain or support in the face of argument or hostile criticism.
Defend at a Glance
| Part of speech | verb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /di-ˈfend/ |
| Syllables | 2 |
| Synonyms | bulwark, cover and fence |
| Antonyms | assail, assault and attack |
Defend Definition (Verb)
- to drive danger or attack away from
defend the castle from invaders
- to maintain or support in the face of argument or hostile criticism
defend a theory / couldn't defend their actions
- to prove (something, such as a doctoral thesis or dissertation) valid by answering questions in an oral exam
preparing to defend her thesis
- to attempt to prevent an opponent from scoring at
elects to defend the south goal
- prevent, forbid
… which God defend that I should wring from him.
- to act as attorney for
hired a lawyer to defend their son
- to deny or oppose the right of a plaintiff in regard to (a suit or a wrong charged) : contest
- to retain or seek to retain (something, such as a title or position) against a challenge in a contest
they successfully defended their championship
- to take action against attack or challenge
the defending champion
- to play or be on defense
playing deep to defend against a pass
- to play against the high bidder
Synonyms of Defend
Antonyms of Defend
Defend in a Sentence
defend the castle from invaders
defend a theory
couldn't defend their actions
preparing to defend her thesis
elects to defend the south goal
… which God defend that I should wring from him.
hired a lawyer to defend their son
they successfully defended their championship
the defending champion
playing deep to defend against a pass
a solemn oath to defend the mother country at any cost
she will pigheadedly defend any claim regardless of all evidence to the contrary
defend a theory / couldn't defend their actions
Word Forms & Grammar
de·fend·ed
de·fend·ing
de·fends
de·fend·able adjective
defend
defendable
defended
defending
defends
Origin of Defend
Middle English defenden, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French defendre, defender, going back to Latin dēfendere "to ward off, fend off, repel danger from, protect," from dē- de- + -fendere, presumably, "to strike, hit" (unattested without prefixes), going back to Indo-European *gwhen-dh-, extended determinate form of *gwhen-, *gwhn- "strike, kill," whence Hittite kuenzi "(s/he) kills," kunanzi "(they) kill," Sanskrit hánti "(s/he) strikes, kills," ghnánti "(they) strike, kill," Greek theínein "to strike," épethnon "(I) killed," Old Irish gonaid "(s/he) pierces, wounds, kills," Welsh gwan- "stab, pierce," Lithuanian genù, giñti "to drive (cattle, etc.)," Old Church Slavic ženǫ, gŭnati "to drive, chase out, expel"; also, from nominal derivative *gwhon-, Greek phónos "bloodshed, murder," and from *gwhń̥-tih2, Germanic *gunþī, *gunþjō, whence Old English gūþ "battle, combat," Old Saxon gūđea, Old High German gund-, Old Icelandic gunnr, guðr
First Known Use
14th centuryt
Defend Pronunciation
The standard pronunciation of defend is /di-ˈfend/, spoken in 2 syllables, with the main stress on the second syllable (fend).
Questions People Ask About Defend
What part of speech is defend?
Defend is a verb.
What is another word for defend?
You can replace defend with words such as bulwark, cover and fence. See the full list of defend synonyms and antonyms.