defence noun
1 action to protect sb/sth from attack
ADJ. adequate, effective | natural the body's natural defence against viruses | national | air | civil | nuclear
VERB + DEFENCE organize, plan to plan the defence of harbour | come to, leap to, rush to, spring to He always sprang to Rose's defence when Ed tried to criticize her.
PREP. in ~ of to fight in defence of your country | ~ against defence against attacks from the north
PHRASES weapons of defence
2 sth that protects sb/sth from sth
ADJ. effective | coastal, sea
VERB + DEFENCE put up They put up an effective defence against the guerrilla forces. | overcome, overwhelm With her tears and angry accusations she completely overwhelmed his defences. | build (up) They are building up defences along the river. | breach The sea breached the coastal defences in a number of spots.
DEFENCE + NOUN mechanism
PREP. ~ against
3 forces, etc. for protecting a country
DEFENCE + NOUN force/forces, system | minister, ministry | policy, strategy | industry | budget, cuts, expenditure, spending
4 legal argument
ADJ. good | robust, spirited, strong | adequate | legal
VERB + DEFENCE conduct, make, mount, put up, raise | destroy
DEFENCE + NOUN counsel, lawyer
PREP. in sb's ~ She spoke in his defence. | ~ of, ~ to a defence to murder
PHRASES counsel for the defence
5 in sport
ADJ. good, strong, stubborn
VERB + DEFENCE put up | destroy | strengthen
PREP. in ~ to play in defence
You can also check other dicts: defence (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition