Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

defense

/dɪˈfɛns/ noun, verb

Also a form of defence

Forms defenses defensing defensed defence

  1. noun The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury.
  2. noun (team sports) A strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offense.
  3. noun (team sports) The portion of a team dedicated to preventing the other team from scoring; contrasted with offense.
  4. noun An argument in support or justification of something. “to come to someone's defense”
  5. noun (law, by extension) The case presented by the defendant in a legal proceeding.
  6. noun (law, by extension) The lawyer or team thereof who presents such a case.
  7. noun (government, military, euphemistic) Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military.
  8. noun (obsolete) A prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance.
  9. verb (sports, chiefly US) To employ defensive tactics (so as to block).
  10. verb (now rare) To furnish with defenses; to defend, protect.

Synonyms

defence fortification guard preservation protection safeguard shield ward defensive measure defending team vindication defense mechanism defense reaction defence mechanism defence reaction Department of Defense Defense Department United States Department of Defense DoD defense team defense lawyers refutation defense force defence force defensive structure denial demurrer

Antonyms

offense prosecution attack

Etymology

From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun.

From Middle English defencen, defensen, from Old French defenser or its etymon, Latin dēfēnsō.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger.
  2. noun That which defends or protects; anything employed to oppose attack, ward off violence or danger, or maintain security; a guard; a protection.
  3. verb To furnish with defenses; to fortify. [Obs.] [Written also defence.]

Etymology [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “defense”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details