defensa
[d̪eˈfẽnsa]
The verdict
“defensa” is in the everyday core of Spanish, ranked #763 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.
- #763
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 18
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Acción o efecto de proteger algo contra una ofensiva o daño.
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 | defensa |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [d̪eˈfẽnsa] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #763 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 18 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “defensa” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for defensa is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [d̪eˈfẽnsa]. Corpus data places it at rank #763 in overall Spanish word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for defensa, with forms such as "ddefensa", "deefnsa", and "defenas". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "densa", "defina", "dehesa", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is defensa, spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-A.
Definition
- 1Acción o efecto de proteger algo contra una ofensiva o daño.
- 2Medio por el cual esta defensa₁ se lleva a cabo.
- 3Conjunto de letrados encargados de abogar por el o los imputados en una causa.
- 4Motivos o razones que esta parte aduce para refutar la imputación o cargo.
- 5Obras de refuerzo que se erigen junto a un edificio o un accidente natural para preservar la integridad de éste.
- 6Conjunto de mecanismos de los que un organismo dispone para eliminar los agentes patógenos.
- 7Fardos u objetos elásticos que se cuelgan de las bordas de un buque para prevenir el impacto del casco contra el muelle u otras embarcaciones mientras se encuentra amarrado.
- 8Pieza que, en un automóvil, protege sus extremos frontal y posterior de impactos contra otros objetos.
- 9Jugador que juega en retaguardia, intentando prevenir o detener el avance del rival.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddefensa,deefnsa,defenas,defennsa,defenssa,defesna,deffensa,defnesa,dfeensa,edfensa
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of defensa - 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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "defensa"?
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Using “defensa”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is D-E-F-E-N-S-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [d̪eˈfẽnsa] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “densa” - see the side-by-side comparison. defensa vs densa
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish 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.