defend
/dɪˈfɛnd/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.47 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To focus one's energies and talents on preventing opponents from scoring, as opposed to focusing on scoring.
verb
Mostly in tests. The action of not putting force into hitting a shot, but to conserve energy and wear down bowlers so they can attack later.
verb
To attempt to retain a title, or attempt to reach the same stage in a competition as one did in the previous instance of that competition.
Example Sentences
- "Most Zionists hoped for a state of their own, but early in the 20th century, writers like Hillel Solotaroff and Chaim Zhitlowsky, both Yiddish-speaking immigrant intellectuals in New York, imagined another alternative: a federation of self-governing anarchist communes in Palestine that would defend Jewish life without relying on state power."
- "Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday defended the code of conduct the Supreme Court created last year, but conceded there needs to be a way to enforce the rules for it to be more effective."
- "Philip Miles, defending, said: "This was a single instance, there was no allegation of continuing behaviour over a long period of time.""
- "The teams strategy was to defend but score runs as well for the first 20 overs."
- "The vertue is, that neither steele, nor stone The stroke thereof from entrance may defend[…]."
- "Broder said sir launcelot wete ye wel I am ful lothe to departe oute of this realme but the quene hath defended me soo hyhely that me semeth she wille neuer be my good lady as she hath ben"
Etymology
From Middle English defenden, from Old French defendre, deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin dēfendō (“to ward off”), from Proto-Italic *fendō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen-. Displaced native Old English bewerian.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *gʷʰen-, defenden, defendre, dēfendō, *fendō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /dɪˈfɛnd/
- British English: /dɪˈfɛnd/
Usage
Inflected Forms
defends (present, singular)
defending (participle, present)
defended (participle, past)
defended (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
defended (first person, past)
defendest (archaic, present)
defended (past, second person)
defendedst (archaic, past)
defendeth (archaic, present)
defended (past, singular)