defend
part of speech
verb (defend, defends, defended, defending)
meaning for a pupil
1) To defend someone or something is to protect it from attack or harm. tree →
2) To defend is to speak up in support of someone or an idea. tree →
3) In sport to defend is to try to stop the other team scoring. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Tanakh it often means God protects a city or a person. God promised to defend Jerusalem for David's sake. Interpretation: Tradition reads this promise as showing God's care for David's line and for Jerusalem. In the primary lessons: In history lessons castles had walls, moats and towers to defend them. In science animals defend themselves with spines, shells, stings or camouflage. In PE defenders stop goals. In PSHE pupils learn to defend a friend who is being bullied by telling an adult. Phrases: defend yourself, defend against, defend a goal, defend someone's opinion.
examples
- For I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake.' (Prophets 2KI.19.34, JPS 1917) tree →
- But he stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD wrought a great victory. (Prophets 2SA.23.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city. (Prophets ISA.38.6, JPS 1917) tree →
- The soldiers defended the castle. tree →
- A porcupine defends itself with sharp quills. tree →
- She defended her friend from the bullies. tree →
- Our team defended well in the second half. tree →
- He defended his idea in the class debate. tree →
- The goalkeeper defends the goal. tree →
- Mother birds defend their nests. tree →
- Pinocchio, although alone, defended himself bravely. tree →
note
Regular verb (defended). Noun: defence (UK) / defense (US). Person: defender. Opposite: attack. Defending yourself is about being safe — getting away and telling an adult is often the best defence.
In the corpora
- For I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake.'
- For I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake.'
- And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.
- Elephants use their tusks to dig for water and salt, strip bark, move things and defend themselves.
- Zebras defend themselves with powerful kicks and bites that can badly injure a lion, and they have never been tamed like horses.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «defend» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.