Defense or defence may refer to:

Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups

Defense (military) A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

, forces primarily intended for warfare *

Civil defense Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...

, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industry, industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology *

Self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of Force (law), ...

, the use of force to defend oneself *

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

(Hebrew for "The Defence"), a paramilitary organization in British Palestine *

National security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

, security of a nation state, its citizens, economy, and institutions, as a duty of government **

Defence diplomacy In international relations, defence diplomacy (also known as military diplomacy), refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives through the peaceful employment of defence resources and capabilities. Origin of concept Defence diplomacy as an o ...

, pursuit of foreign policy objectives through the peaceful employment of defence resources **

Ministry of defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

or department of defense, a part of government which regulates the armed forces **

Defence minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, a cabinet position in charge of a ministry of defense *

International security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

, measures taken by states and international organizations to ensure mutual survival and safety

Sports

Defense (sports) In many team sports, defense (American spelling) or defence ( Commonwealth spelling) is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is ...

, the action of preventing an opponent from scoring **

Defender (association football) In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals **

Defenceman (ice hockey) Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

, a player, other than the goaltender, in a defensive position ** Defensive batting, a method of avoiding being out in cricket

Law

Defense (legal) In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil legal liability, liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a par ...

, an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability * Defence of property, argument that a defendant should not be held liable for any loss caused while acting to protect their property *

Right of self-defense The right of self-defense is the right for people as individuals to commit a crime, violent or non-violent, for the purpose of defending their own life ( self-defense) and property, or to defend the lives of others, in certain circumstances. ...

, the right for people to use reasonable force to defend themselves

Places

Defence, Karachi The Pakistan Defense Officers Housing Authority (PDOHA), Karachi (), formerly Pakistan Defense Officers Cooperative Housing Society, is a residential neighbourhood or a housing society located within Clifton Cantonment of Karachi. The total pop ...

, a neighbourhood located within Clifton Cantonment of Karachi, Pakistan *

La Défense La Défense () is a major business district in France's Paris metropolitan area, west of the city limits. It is located in Île-de-France region's Departments of France, department of Hauts-de-Seine in the Communes of France, communes of Courbe ...

, a business district near Paris ** The

Grande Arche La Grande Arche de la Défense (; "The Great Arch of the Defense"), originally called La Grande Arche de la Fraternité (; "Fraternity"), is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west ...

, commonly known as Arche de la Défense, near Paris

Other uses

* ''The Defence'' (TV series), a 2018 Polish television series *

Defense (chess) The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory. The other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''openings'', have standard names such as " Sicilian Defense". ' ...

, a chess opening by Black * ''Defence'' (ship), name of several ships ** HMS ''Defence'', Royal Navy ships of this name *

Thesis defense A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard Internation ...

, oral examination required for certain advanced degrees *

Defence mechanisms In psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors. According to this theory, healthy ...

, unconscious psychological mechanisms that reduce anxiety * "The Defence", a song by Black Midi from '' Hellfire''

Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups

Sports

Law

Places

Other uses

See also