defense

/dɪˈfɛns/

//dɪˈfɛns// noun

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

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

The verdict

“defense” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,247. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,247
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-defense · defense · English

defense · rank #1,247 · 10 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,247
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dance

Nearest frequency peer: dance (-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 “defense”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “defense” 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).

defense vs dense
71% similar
defense vs define
71% similar
defense vs defuse
71% similar

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

Key facts for defense
PropertyValue
Headworddefense
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈfɛns/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,247
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “defense”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).defenselands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “dance” (#1,246), “direction” (#1,248), “civil” (#1,245). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “defense” is #1,247. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around defense (IPA /dɪˈfɛns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,247 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for defense, with forms such as "ddefense", "deefnse", and "defenes". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "dense", "define", "defuse", 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 native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun. The correct English form is defense, spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury.
  2. 2
    Anything employed to oppose attack(s).
  3. 3
    Anything employed to oppose attack(s).
  4. 4
    An argument in support or justification of something.
  5. 5
    An argument in support or justification of something.
  6. 6
    An argument in support or justification of something.
  7. 7
    Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military.
  8. 8
    A prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. to come to someone's defense
  2. Department of Defense

Etymology

From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun.

Synonyms

defencedefensefortificationguardpreservationprotectionsafeguardshieldward

Antonyms

offenseprosecutionattack

This word in other languages

defensa(Español)défense(Français)Verteidigung(Deutsch)defesa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddefense
  • deefnse
  • defenes
  • defennse
  • defensse
  • defesne
  • deffense
  • defnese
  • dfeense
  • edfense

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of defense - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddefense1deefnse2defenes2defennse1defensse1defesne2deffense1defnese2
Edit distance from "defense"

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 "defense"?
"defense" is spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈfɛns/.
What does "defense" mean?
As a noun, "defense" means: The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury.
What words are commonly confused with "defense"?
"defense" is commonly confused with "dense", "define", "defuse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "defense"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "defense" 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 "defense"?
From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun. 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 "defense", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

biggest#1,243reasons#1,252weekend#1,257awesome#1,261

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

approach10 variantssports10 variantsopening10 variantsFrance10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list