Defend, protect, shield, guard, safeguard mean to keep secure from danger or against attack. Defend denotes warding off actual or threatened attack. Defend implies repelling or being ready to repel an attack:
The army defended the border against the enemy. To defend is to strive to keep safe by resisting attack: Definition of defend verb in oxford advanced learner's dictionary.
Defend, guard, preserve, protect all mean to keep safe. Jan 20, 2026defend (third-person singular simple present defends, present participle defending, simple past and past participle defended) (transitive) to ward off attacks against;
