defend
/dɪˈfɛnd/
"defend" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“defend” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,159 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #3,159
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 16
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect; to guard.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | defend |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈfɛnd/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #3,159 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 16 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “defend” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for defend is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈfɛnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,159 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for defend, with forms such as "ddefend", "deefnd", and "defedn". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "defer", "demand", "define", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English defenden, from Old French defendre, deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin dēfendō (“to ward off”), from Proto-Italic *fendō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen-. Displaced native Old English bewerian. The correct English form is defend, spelled D-E-F-E-N-D.
Definition
- 1To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect; to guard.
- 2To support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.
- 3To make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).
- 4To focus one's energies and talents on preventing opponents from scoring, as opposed to focusing on scoring.
- 5Mostly in tests. The action of not putting force into hitting a shot, but to conserve energy and wear down bowlers so they can attack later.
- 6To attempt to retain a title, or attempt to reach the same stage in a competition as one did in the previous instance of that competition.
- 7To call a raise from the big blind.
- 8To ward off, repel (an attack or attacker).
- 9To prevent, to keep (from doing something).
- 10To prohibit, forbid.
Etymology
From Middle English defenden, from Old French defendre, deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin dēfendō (“to ward off”), from Proto-Italic *fendō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen-. Displaced native Old English bewerian.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddefend,deefnd,defedn,defendd,defennd,deffend,defned,dfeend,edfend
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of defend - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “defend”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-F-E-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈfɛnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “defer” - see the side-by-side comparison. defend vs defer
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.