defence

/dɪˈfɛns/

//dɪˈfɛns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"defence" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“defence” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,940. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,940
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.

Corpus desk

Index EN-defence · defence · English

defence · rank #2,940 · 11 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,940
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH defeat

Nearest frequency peer: defeat (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “defence”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “defence” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

defence vs defend
71% similar
defence vs define
71% similar
defence vs defense
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for defence
PropertyValue
Headworddefence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈfɛns/
Letters7
Frequency rank#2,940
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “defence”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).defencelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “defeat” (#2,939), “democracy” (#2,941), “dan” (#2,938). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “defence” is #2,940. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around defence (IPA /dɪˈfɛns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,940 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for defence, with forms such as "ddefence", "deefnce", and "defance". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "defend", "define", "defense", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced Old English bewering. The correct English form is defence, spelled D-E-F-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.
  2. 2
    Something used to oppose attacks.
  3. 3
    An argument in support or justification of something.
  4. 4
    A strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
  5. 5
    The portion of a team dedicated to preventing the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
  6. 6
    Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military.
  7. 7
    Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how defence appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In cases of defence ’tis best to weigh The enemy more mighty than he seems:
  2. And nothing ’gainst Time’s scythe can make defence Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Etymology

From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced Old English bewering.

Antonyms

offenceoffense

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddefence
  • deefnce
  • defance
  • defecne
  • defencce
  • defenec
  • defennce
  • deffence
  • defnece
  • dfeence
  • edfence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of defence - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddefence1deefnce2defance1defecne2defencce1defenec2defennce1deffence1
Edit distance from "defence"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

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: The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.
What words are commonly confused with "defence"?
"defence" is commonly confused with "defend", "define", "defense". 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 is the origin of the word "defence"?
From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced Old English bewering. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "defence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

exposed#2,945injured#2,948chances#2,930adopted#2,926

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

detailed11 variantstherapy11 variantsobjects11 variantsplastic11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list