Definition of defend
- v. t. - To ward or fend off; to drive back or away; to repel.
- v. t. - To prohibit; to forbid.
- v. t. - To repel danger or harm from; to protect; to secure
against; attack; to maintain against force or argument; to uphold; to
guard; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to
defend the absent; -- sometimes followed by from or against; as, to
defend one's self from, or against, one's enemies.
- v. t. - To deny the right of the plaintiff in regard to (the
suit, or the wrong charged); to oppose or resist, as a claim at law; to
contest, as a suit.