transcription, транскрипция: [ di-ˈfend ]
verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French defendre, from Latin defendere, from de- + -fendere to strike; akin to Old English gūth battle, war, Greek theinein to strike
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1.
a. : to drive danger or attack away from
defend our shores
b.
(1) : to maintain or support in the face of argument or hostile criticism
defend a theory
(2) : to prove (as a doctoral thesis) valid by answering questions in an oral exam
c. : to attempt to prevent an opponent from scoring at
elects to defend the south goal
2. archaic : prevent , forbid
3. : to act as attorney for
4. : to deny or oppose the right of a plaintiff in regard to (a suit or a wrong charged) : contest
5. : to retain or seek to retain (as a title or position) against a challenge in a contest
they successfully defend ed their championship
intransitive verb
1. : to take action against attack or challenge
2. : to play or be on defense
playing deep to defend against a pass
3. : to play against the high bidder in a card game
• de·fend·able ˈfen-də-bəl adjective
Synonyms:
defend , protect , shield , guard , safeguard mean to keep secure from danger or against attack. defend denotes warding off actual or threatened attack
defend the country
protect implies the use of something (as a covering) as a bar to the admission or impact of what may attack or injure
a hard hat to protect your head
shield suggests protective intervention in imminent danger or actual attack
shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand
guard implies protecting with vigilance and force against expected danger
White House entrances are well guarded
safeguard implies taking precautionary protective measures against merely possible danger
our civil liberties must be safeguarded
Synonym: see in addition maintain .