| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ noun
: the act of defending oneself or something that belongs or relates to oneself
the manly art of self-defense
issued a statement in self-defense after the newspaper's attack on him
especially : a plea of justification for assaulting or killing a human being sustained under very technical rules of law after examining the surrounding circumstances and considering such factors as whether the defendant was the initial aggressor or free from fault, whether he had a reasonable opportunity to retreat to a place of safety, and whether the force used by him was reasonable and used to protect himself or those under his protection