də̇fend, dēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English defenden, from Old French defendre, from Latin defendere, from de- + -fendere to strike; akin to Old English gūth battle, war, Old High German gund-, Old Norse gunnr battle, war, Greek theinein to strike, Sanskrit hanti he strikes, kills
transitive verb
1. archaic : to ward or fend off : drive back or away : repel
2. archaic : prevent , forbid , prohibit
which God defend that I should wring from him — Shakespeare
3. : to drive danger or attack away from : secure against attack : maintain against force : protect , guard
men defending their homes
defend our shores
— often used with from
a floor … to defend the old woman's bones from the dampness — Ellen Glasgow
4. : to maintain against argument or hostile criticism : uphold , justify
defend a theory
defended his friend's behavior
specifically : to prove valid (as a doctoral thesis) by answering extempore questions asked by experts in an oral examination
5. : to act as attorney for (an accused person) in criminal proceedings
6. : to deny or oppose the right of a plaintiff in regard to (a suit or a wrong charged) : controvert : oppose , resist
defend a claim at law
: contest
defend a suit
intransitive verb
1. : to take action against attack or challenge
the defending champion
he preferred defending to attacking
specifically : to enter or make a defense in a legal action or suit
2. in card games
a. : to play against the high bidder
b. : to bid for the purpose of preventing an opponent from reaching an especially advantageous bid
Synonyms:
protect , shield , guard , safeguard : defend may imply warding off what actually threatens or repelling what actually attacks or securing against attack
to defend the settlers from the Indians
the antitrust laws must constantly defend the ideal of industrial democracy against all sorts of pressures — T.W.Arnold
protect is somewhat wider and may imply shielding or guarding, sometimes as with a cover, from anything that might injure or destroy
cherished and nurtured to strength by his mother, he may then protect and cherish another woman in his turn — Weston La Barre
a refuge for deer, bear, and wildcats. It is protected by a private game warden — American Guide Series: North Carolina
the ledge-lined harbor rimmed with well-kept estates affords a protected anchorage for a large yachting fleet — American Guide Series: Connecticut
shield suggests interposition of or as of a shield, screen, or other protective intervention against attack somewhat more imminent and specific than that suggested by protect
who shielded himself from importunate callers by an impassable barrage of clerks and secretaries — W.F.Hambly
innocent, confessing to the crime to shield the real murderer, a close friend or relative who had a wife and many children — American Guide Series: Arizona
guard implies protecting with vigilance, force, and strength
to guard the pass against attack
secret service men guarding the president
the accumulation of private wealth in Boston, thriftily guarded by the canny Whigs — Van Wyck Brooks
safeguard applies to any strong and careful protective measures against potential dangers and threats
the proletariat, scared by the famine and the floods of the Tiber, looked to him to safeguard their precarious livelihood and their scanty pleasures — John Buchan
tax reforms which will bring the most revenue to the government while safeguarding the best interests of our economy and the nation's investors — G.K.Funston
Marge safeguards the reputation of the arresting policeman by riding with him when he takes the girl to the county clink — G.S.Perry
Synonym: see in addition maintain .