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 armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, forces primarily intended for warfare *

Civil defense Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...

, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks *

Defense industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and servi ...

, 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 in ...

, the use of force to defend oneself *

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

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

National security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...

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

Defence diplomacy In international politics, defence 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 organizing concept for defence-relate ...

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

Ministry of defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

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

Defence minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

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

International security International security, also called global security is a term which refers to the measures taken by states and international organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union, and others, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These meas ...

, 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 position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, 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 scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

, 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 liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat a ...

, an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability *

Defence of property The defence of property is a common method of Justification (jurisprudence), justification used by Legal defense, defendants who argue that they should not be held liable for any loss and injury that they have caused because they were acting t ...

, 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 (also called, when it applies to the defense of another, alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for people to use reasonable or defensive force, for the purpose of defending one' ...

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

Places

Defence, Karachi The Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Karachi ( ur, ), formerly Pakistan Defence Officers Cooperative Housing Society, is a residential neighbourhood or a housing society located within Clifton Cantonment of Karachi. It was originally establishe ...

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

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

, 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

Defense (chess) A chess opening or simply an 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 have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...

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

DeFence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

'', an art project *

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 ISO 7144: ...

, oral examination required for certain advanced degrees *

Defence mechanisms In psychoanalytic theory, a defence mechanism (American English: defense mechanism), is an unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and ou ...

, unconscious psychological mechanisms that reduce anxiety

Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups

Sports

Law

Places

Other uses

See also