What does defence mean?
Word: Defence
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Defence means protecting someone or something from harm or danger. In sport it also means the players whose main job is to stop the other side from scoring.
Synonyms: protection, guard, shield
Antonyms: offence
How do you spell defence?
Syllables: de - fence
Tricky part: In British and Australian spelling the word ends in ce, like fence. Students often write an a or i in the second syllable or drop the final e.
Watch out for: defance, defince, defens
Memory tip: Think of the ce at the end as a little fence closing off the word: defence, fence and offence all end the same way.
Defence in a sentence
Example 1: The Army, Navy and Air Force together look after the defence of the country.
Example 2: Our team's defence held firm through a nervous last ten minutes.
Example 3: In her defence, the school bus really had broken down that morning.
Fun Fact
Many chess openings are called defences, such as the Sicilian Defence and the French Defence, because Black chooses them in reply to White's first move.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
deffence
a) n
b) f
c) c
d) e
Show answer
b) f. Offence has ff, but defence has a single f.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
defence
a) barrier
b) support
c) attack
d) safety
Show answer
c) attack. Defence keeps danger out, attack goes after the other side; the other three are about keeping safe or helping.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
efcndee
a) fenced
b) decent
c) deface
d) defence
Show answer
d) defence. All seven letters, three e's included, are used only in defence.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) goalkeeper
b) defence
c) stratergy
d) tackle
Show answer
c) stratergy. Strategy has no r after the e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In a court case, the defence is the side that ____.
a) argues for the accused person
b) records what is said
c) decides the final sentence
d) brings the case to court
Show answer
a) argues for the accused person
2. A country's Ministry of Defence looks after its ____.
a) schools and colleges
b) railway lines
c) foreign trade
d) armed forces
Show answer
d) armed forces
