defence
/dɪˈfɛns/noun
defence is spelled D-E-F-E-N-C-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “defence vs defense” about 18,100 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, defence means “The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of defence is defences.
How many letters and syllables are in defence?
| Letters | 7: D-E-F-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 32 times per million words; the 2,941st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is defence?
Defence appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defence?
- UK /dɪˈfɛns/
Defence has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-defence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with defence
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of defence
- defences plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- defense US
- defencing participle, present
- defenced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKThe action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.
- 2
UKSomething used to oppose attacks.
- 3
UKAn argument in support or justification of something.
- 4
UKA strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
- 5
UKThe portion of a team dedicated to preventing the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
- 6
UKGovernment policy or (infra)structure related to the military.
Department of Defence
- 7
UKobsoleteProhibition; a prohibitory ordinance.
verb
- 1
UKobsoleteTo furnish with defences; to fortify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does defence come from?
From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced Old English bewering.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).