defencede·fence /dɪˈfens/ British EnglishBrE, defense American EnglishAmE noun [countableC]1LAWthe things that are said in a court of law to try to prove that someone is not guilty of a crimeI am unhappy about the way my barrister is conducting my defence.
2LAW the defence the lawyers in a court of law who try to prove that someone is not guilty of a crimethe chief witness for the defence
The defense argued that the case should be dropped.
→ compare prosecution 3FINANCE actions taken by a company to prevent a takeover that it does not want → crown jewels defence → Pacman defense