# defend

Pronunciation: say "di-FEND" /dɪˈfɛnd/

## Verb

1. To fight to protect someone or something from attack; to guard against harm.
   - Simple: To keep someone or something safe from attack or harm.
   - _The troops fought hard to defend the bridge throughout the night._
   - _Knights were expected to defend their lord's lands at all costs._
2. To support someone or something with words or writing; to argue in their favor.
   - Simple: To speak or write in support of someone or something.
   - _The author wrote an essay to defend her controversial theory._
   - _Critics attacked the policy, but several economists defended it._
3. To act as legal counsel for an accused person, arguing their case in court.
   - Simple: To act as a lawyer for someone accused of a crime.
   - _The firm agreed to defend the accused without charge._
   - _An experienced attorney defended the company against the fraud allegations._
4. To concentrate one's effort on stopping opponents from scoring rather than on scoring oneself.
   - Simple: To play in a way that stops the other team from scoring, instead of trying to score.
   - _When their lead grew, the players chose to defend rather than push forward._
   - _She defends tirelessly, tracking back to break up every attack._
5. To attempt to retain a title or to reach the same stage in a competition as in the previous edition.
   - Simple: To try to keep a title you won before, by competing for it again.
   - _The reigning winner returns to defend her crown against younger rivals._
   - _He defended the heavyweight belt successfully in front of a home crowd._
6. In cricket, to play a shot without force, blocking the ball to conserve energy and wear down the bowlers.
   - Simple: In cricket, to block the ball gently instead of hitting hard, to save energy and tire out the bowlers.
   - _On a tricky pitch, the opener was content to defend ball after ball._
   - _She defended the rising delivery softly down to the ground._
7. In poker, to call a raise while sitting in the big blind position. *(slang)*
   - Simple: In poker, to call a raise when you are in the big blind.
   - _With decent odds, most players will defend against a small raise._
   - _He defended his big blind and went on to win the pot._

## Verb

8. To fight off or drive back an attack or an attacker. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To drive back or push away an attack or an attacker.
9. To prevent someone or something, or to keep them from doing something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To stop or keep someone from doing something.
10. To prohibit or forbid; to rule that something must not be done. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To forbid something, or to order that it not be done.

## Origin

From Middle English defenden, from Old French defendre, from Latin dēfendō ("to ward off"), which traces back through Proto-Italic to the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷʰen-. It displaced the native Old English word bewerian.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/defend (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).