Definitions of defense:

• noun:   protection from harm

  Example: "Sanitation is the best defense against disease"

• noun:   military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies

  Example: "They died in the defense of Stalingrad"

• noun:   a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him

  Example: "He gave evidence for the defense"

• noun:   the justification for some act or belief

  Example: "He offered a persuasive defense of the theory"

• noun:   an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack

  Example: "He joined the defense against invasion"

• noun:   the defendant and his legal advisors collectively

  Example: "The defense called for a mistrial"

• noun:   (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring

  Example: "His teams are always good on defense"

• noun:   a structure used for defense

  Example: "The artillery battered down the defenses"

• noun:   the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions

  Example: "In defense he said the other man started it"

• noun:   the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the UnitedStates; created in 1947
• noun:   (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires