defense (noun)
1: (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense" [syn: defence, defending team] [ant: offense, offense]
2: military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program" [syn: defence, defensive measure]
3: the defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial" [syn: defence, [[defense team]], defense lawyers] [ant: prosecution]
4: protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease" [syn: defence]
5: a structure used for defense; "the artillery battered down the defenses" [syn: defensive structure, defence]
6: the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions; "his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive"; "in defense he said the other man started it" [syn: refutation, defence]
7: the justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory" [syn: defence, vindication]
8: a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him; "he gave evidence for the defense" [syn: defence, denial, demurrer] [ant: prosecution]
9: an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion" [syn: defence, defense force, defence force]
10: the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the UnitedStates; created in 1947 [syn: [[Department of Defense]], Defense Department, [[United States Department of Defense]], Defense, DoD]
11: (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires [syn: [[defense mechanism]], defense reaction, defence mechanism, [[defence reaction]], defence]