defence

/[dɪˈfɛns]/ noun

Letters

7 characters

Frequency Rank

#43,097

in German word usage

Misspellings

10

tracked variants

Confusables

2

similar word pairs

defence is aGermannoun. It means: Verteidigung, Verteidigungskunst, Schutz Pronounced [dɪˈfɛns]. Often confused with defender and Defekte.

Key facts for defence
PropertyValue
Headworddefence
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[dɪˈfɛns]
Letters7
Frequency rank#43,097
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of defence in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for defence is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [dɪˈfɛns]. Corpus data places it at rank #43,097 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for defence, with forms such as "ddefence", "deefnce", and "defecne". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "defender", "Defekte", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is defence, spelled D-E-F-E-N-C-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Verteidigung, Verteidigungskunst, Schutz
  2. 2
    Schutzwall, Befestigung, Verteidigung
  3. 3
    Rüstung, Waffen, Schutzwaffe, Fechtkunst
  4. 4
    Rechtfertigung

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddefence,deefnce,defecne,defencce,defenec,defennce,deffence,defnece,dfeence,edfence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for defence

Misspelling Variants of "defence"

ddefence8deefnce7defecne7defencce8defenec7defennce8deffence8defnece7
Misspelling Variants of "defence"

Frequency rank: #43,097 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "defence"?
"defence" is spelled D-E-F-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is [dɪˈfɛns].
What does "defence" mean?
As a noun, "defence" means: Verteidigung, Verteidigungskunst, Schutz
What words are commonly confused with "defence"?
"defence" is commonly confused with "defender", "Defekte". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "defence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "defence" is [dɪˈfɛns]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "defence" come from?
"defence" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.