- 1something you say or do in order to protect yourself when you are being attacked, criticized, etc. The man later told police that he was acting in self-defence. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecollective, legitimate verb + self-defencelearn, plead self-defence/self-defense + nounclass, group, technique, … prepositionfor self-defence , in self-defence , self-defence against, … phrasesan act of self-defence, the art of self-defence, the right of self-defence, … See full entry
- 2the skill of being able to protect yourself from physical attack without using weapons I'm taking classes in self-defence. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecollective, legitimate verb + self-defencelearn, plead self-defence/self-defense + nounclass, group, technique, … prepositionfor self-defence , in self-defence , self-defence against, … phrasesan act of self-defence, the art of self-defence, the right of self-defence, … See full entry Extra examples He told police that he had acted in self-defence. I own a gun for self-defence. The women learn self-defence to protect themselves. self-defence against armed assailants
self-defence
nounBrE BrE//ˌself dɪˈfens//; NAmE NAmE//ˌself dɪˈfens//
(British English) (North American English self-defense) [uncountable]Check pronunciation: self-defence
