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self-defense - 5 dictionary results
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self-de⋅fense

  [self-di-fens, self-]
Use self-defense in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of defending one's person when physically attacked, as by countering blows or overcoming an assailant: the art of self-defense.
2. a claim or plea that the use of force or injuring or killing another was necessary in defending one's own person from physical attack: He shot the man who was trying to stab him and pleaded self-defense at the murder trial.
3. an act or instance of defending or protecting one's own interests, property, ideas, etc., as by argument or strategy.
Also, especially British, self-de⋅fence.

Origin:
1645–55

Related forms:
self-de⋅fen⋅sive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Bellflower Self Defense
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Self-Defense Training
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 www.Self-DefenseSystems.com
self-de·fense   (sělf'dĭ-fěns')
n.  
  1. Defense of oneself when physically attacked: took a course in self-defense.
  2. Defense of what belongs to oneself, as one's works or reputation.
  3. Law The right to protect oneself against violence or threatened violence with whatever force or means are reasonably necessary.
self'-de·fen'sive adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Self-defense

Self`-de*fense"\, n. The act of defending one's own person, property, or reputation.

In self-defense (Law), in protection of self, -- it being permitted in law to a party on whom a grave wrong is attempted to resist the wrong, even at the peril of the life of the assailiant. --Wharton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : self-defense
Spanish: autodefensa, defensa propia,
German: die Selbstverteidigung, die Notwehr,
Japanese: 自衛
More Translations »

self-defense 
1651, "act of defending oneself," first attested in Hobbes, from self + defense (q.v.). In sports sense, first with ref. to fencing (1728), then boxing (1820s).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: self–de·fense
Pronunciation: 'self-di-'fens
Function: noun
1 : the use of force to defend oneself
2 : an affirmative defense (as to a murder charge) alleging that the defendant used force necessarily to protect himself or herself because of a reasonable belief that the other party intended to inflict great bodily harm or death —see also JUSTIFICATION 2
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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