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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “defense”

“defense” is pronounced /dɪˈfɛns/ (di-FENS) in American English and /dɪfɛns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “fɛns”.
The sound

Say “defense” in 2 beats

Say it like this

defense

/dɪˈfɛns/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪfɛns/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. dɪdɪ
  2. fɛnsfɛnsstress
IPA (American)
/dɪˈfɛns/
IPA (British)
/dɪfɛns/
Respelling
di-FENS
Syllables
2 — dɪ-FƐNS
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dɪ-FƐNS. “fɛns” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈfɛns/

British

/dɪfɛns/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “defense” means

  1. noun

    (military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies

    “they died in the defense of Stalingrad”

  2. noun

    protection from harm

    “sanitation is the best defense against disease”

  3. noun

    (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring

    “his teams are always good on defense”

Say it in a sentence

“The lawyer built a strong defense for her client.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɪshort iffɛshort ennss

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“defense”, answered

How do you pronounce “defense”?

“defense” is pronounced /dɪˈfɛns/ (di-FENS) in American English and /dɪfɛns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “fɛns”. Build it as dɪ-FƐNS, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “defense” have?

2: dɪ · fɛns. The beat lands on the second, “fɛns”.

Is “defense” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈfɛns/ (di-FENS); British English says /dɪfɛns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “defense” mean?

As a noun: (military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies For example: “they died in the defense of Stalingrad” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “defense”?

Stress the second syllable: dɪ-FƐNS. “fɛns” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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