Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use defend in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb

Defend means to ward off attacks against (something or someone). Example: “The teams strategy was to defend but score runs as well for the first 20 overs.”

Examples of defend by meaning

verbTo support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.

  • Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday defended the code of conduct the Supreme Court created last year, but conceded there needs to be a way to enforce the rules for it to be more effective.2024 July 25, Devan Cole, “Justice Elena Kagan says Supreme Court’s code of conduct needs an enforcement plan. Takeaways from her...

verbTo make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).

  • Philip Miles, defending, said: "This was a single instance, there was no allegation of continuing behaviour over a long period of time."2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in The Guardian

verbMostly in tests. The action of not putting force into hitting a shot, but to conserve energy and wear down bowlers so...

  • The teams strategy was to defend but score runs as well for the first 20 overs.

More sentences with defend

  • The king called on his subjects to take up arms and defend the kingdom.From the entry call on
  • His legalistic tendencies irritated his neighbors, especially since they had to defend themselves against his frivolous suits.From the entry legalistic
  • The titleholder of the world championship was dethroned when he declined to defend his title.From the entry titleholder
  • The firm is defending itself against fresh allegations of mis-selling pensions.From the entry mis-sell
  • The finance minister defended the deficit budget, arguing that infrastructure investment was necessary for growth.From the entry deficit budget
  • The defending champion is expected to defeat his challenger.From the entry champion
  • The bombardier beetle sprays acrid secretions to defend itself.From the entry acrid
  • The Vatican defends the primacy of the papacy.From the entry papacy
  • They fought bravely to defend their homeland.From the entry homeland
  • The reigning world heavyweight champion said he'd defend his title once more and then retire even if he won.From the entry reigning
  • The hostile forces were at an impasse; neither could attack with enough force and still defend against the retaliatory counterattack.From the entry retaliatory
  • The student defended his dissertation successfully.From the entry dissertation
  • The lawyer vigorously defended her client.From the entry vigorously
  • An insect queen actually practices polygamy only one day, while for an alpha-male defending his harem is the very essence of both his status and polygamy.From the entry polygamy
  • It was down to defending that was simply too open and generous.2026 June 17, “England surge to thrilling opening win in World Cup cracker with Croatia”, in The Guardian. From the entry see-saw
  • They democratize access to power and institutions while defending civil liberties,” Caraballo said on Bluesky.2025 April 17, Zane McNeill, “DOGE Aims to Embed Agents in All Nonprofits That Receive Federal Funds”, in Truthout, archived from the…. From the entry org
  • Deon Fourie, although losing quite a few lineouts, defended with grit.2023 October 28, Leighton Koopman, “YES!!! The Springboks beat the All Blacks to win another Rugby World Cup title”, in Independent Online. From the entry wingmate
  • Two PKR caretaker menteris besar will defend their seats in the upcoming state elections.2023 July 22, Hana Naz Harun, Qistina Sallehuddin, “PKR's menteris besar set to defend seats in state elections”, in New Straits Times. From the entry menteri besar
  • In this respect, the CYL defended the Little Pinks and attacked public intellectuals who criticized patriotic netizens.2020, Shaohua Guo, The Evolution of the Chinese Internet. From the entry little pink
  • Most of the magazine’s writers are too embarrassed to defend Trump’s behavior outright.2020 September 15, Jonathan Chait, “National Review Has Elevated Anti-Anti-Trumpism to an Art Form”, in Intelligencer, archived from the…. From the entry anti-Trumpism
  • Understandably, the more extreme the condition, the more defended the family and professionals can be.2018, Dorothy Judd, Give Sorrow Words: Working with a Dying Child, page 1976. From the entry defended
  • In a statement on its website, Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen defended the designation.2018 August 8, Laura Jarrett, “Sessions: Group that backed baker who turned away gay couple not a ‘hate group’”, in CNN, archived from the…. From the entry cohen
  • To no avail, as Mexico held on for a sensational win against the defending champions.2018 June 17, Barney Ronay, “Mexico’s Hirving Lozano stuns world champions Germany for brilliant win”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The…. From the entry to no avail
  • Outsiders have no right to these treasures, and true angara must stand ready to defend our birthright.2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Legacy. From the entry outsider
  • We have evolved to defend ourselves with a much subtler, gentler approach."2017 June 23, Howard Tayler, Schlock Mercenary, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2024. From the entry first strike
  • Instead she would thump her fist to defend Irish people from those speaking out against them.2016 November 20, Katie Walsh, “Why are Irish people so precious about Irishness?”, in The Irish Times, Dublin: Irish Times Trust, →ISSN…. From the entry precious
  • I defend the pudgy Sancho Panzas, the rotund Ragueneaus, and the sentimental Samwise Gamgees of the world.2014, Dwight Longenecker, The Romance of Religion: Fighting for Goodness, Truth, and Beauty, page 87=88. From the entry Sancho Panza
  • The sanctions range from attorney fees to prohibiting the nonanswering party from presenting or defending claims.2013, James J. Gross, It's Splitsville: Surviving Your Divorce, page 240. From the entry attorney
  • “But I had to tell him he's a double-uncle,” he defended his actions.2012, Ina Linger, Three-Night-Stand: Love is Simple. From the entry double uncle
  • A second Norwich goal in four minutes arrived after some dire Newcastle defending.2011 December 10, Arindam Rej, “Norwich 4-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport. From the entry dire
  • A wooden castle, defended by an earthen dike and a palisade of logs.2011, George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons, page 231. From the entry motte and bailey
  • Basel continued to defend for their lives while occasionally threatening on the break.2011 December 7, David Ornstein, “FC Basel 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport. From the entry for one's life
  • Though he defends the Canadian politics, he criticizes the pueblo exclusion of nonpueblos.2011, John Perry, The Pretenses of Loyalty, page 77. From the entry nonpueblo
  • The first thing to do is NOT constantly defend and argue with the ex or the children.2010, Joan Kloth-Zanard, Where Did I Go Wrong? How Did I Miss the Signs? Dealing with Hostile Parenting & Parental Alienation, Lulu.com…. From the entry ammunition
  • Hours before his climb down, the premier's own cabinet ministers had vigorously defended the curriculum.2010 April 24, “Editorial: Dalton McGuinty schooled on sex ed”, in Toronto Sun, Canada, retrieved 30 Jun 2011. From the entry climb down
  • The position of Malaysia was fervently defended by then Prime Minister Dr.2010, Lye Liang Fook, Chen Gang, Towards A Liveable And Sustainable Urban Environment, page 164. From the entry eco-imperialist
  • Ackman said, his lawyers would not permit him to defend himself publicly.2009, Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 17 Jan 09, p. 1. From the entry permit

Meaning of defend

  1. verb To ward off attacks against (something or someone).
  2. verb To ward off attacks from (something or someone).
  3. verb To support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.

Full definition of defend

Questions about defend in a sentence

How do you use defend in a sentence?
Defend is used as a verb. For example: “The teams strategy was to defend but score runs as well for the first 20 overs.”
What is a short sentence with defend?
“The lawyer vigorously defended her client.”
What does defend mean?
Defend means to ward off attacks against (something or someone).

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: defend (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use defend in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/defend. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.