self-defence

self-de·fence

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [self dih-fens]
- /sɛlf dɪˈfɛns/
- /self dɪˈfens/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [self dih-fens]
- /sɛlf dɪˈfɛns/

Definitions of self-defence word

noun self-defence the act of defending one's person when physically attacked, as by countering blows or overcoming an assailant: the art of self-defense. 1
noun self-defence a claim or plea that the use of force or injuring or killing another was necessary in defending one's own person from physical attack: He shot the man who was trying to stab him and pleaded self-defense at the murder trial. 1
noun self-defence an act or instance of defending or protecting one's own interests, property, ideas, etc., as by argument or strategy. 1
uncountable noun self-defence Self-defence is the use of force to protect yourself against someone who is attacking you. 0
uncountable noun self-defence Self-defence is the action of protecting yourself against something bad. 0
noun self-defence the act of defending oneself, one's actions, ideas, etc 0

See all 8 definitions of self-defence

Information block about the term

Origin of self-defence

First appearance:

before 1645

One of the 44% oldest English words

First recorded in 1645-55

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Self-defence

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Self-defence

self-defence popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 62% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.