Defend vs Combat - What's the difference?
defend | combat |
(obsolete) To ward off, repel (an attack or attacker).
*1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.viii:
*:The vertue is, that neither steele, nor stone / The stroke thereof from entrance may defend .
(obsolete) To prevent, to keep (from doing something).
(transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To prohibit, forbid.
*:
*:Broder said sir launcelot wete ye wel I am ful lothe to departe oute of this realme / but the quene hath defended me soo hyhely / that me semeth she wille neuer be my good lady as she hath ben
To ward off attacks from; to fight to protect; to guard.
To support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.
(legal) To make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 14, author=Steven Morris, work=Guardian
, title= (sports) To focus one's energies and talents on preventing opponents from scoring, as opposed to focusing on scoring.
(sports) To attempt to retain a title, or attempt to reach the same stage in a competition as one did in the previous edition of that competition.
(poker slang) To call a raise from the big blind.
A battle, a fight (often one in which weapons are used); a struggle for victory.
*
*:"My tastes," he said, still smiling, "incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet." And, to tease her and arouse her to combat : "I prefer a farandole to a nocturne; I'd rather have a painting than an etching; Mr. Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects;."
*{{quote-magazine, date=2012-03, author=William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter
, volume=100, issue=2, page=87, magazine=(American Scientist)
, title= To fight with; to struggle for victory against.
* Milton
As verbs the difference between defend and combat
is that defend is defends, protects (3rd person singular, present tense) while combat is to fight with; to struggle for victory against.As a noun combat is
a battle, a fight (often one in which weapons are used); a struggle for victory.defend
English
Verb
(en verb)Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave, passage=Philip Miles, defending , said: "This was a single instance, there was no allegation of continuing behaviour over a long period of time."}}
Synonyms
* See alsoAntonyms
* attackAnagrams
*combat
English
(wikipedia combat)Noun
The British Longitude Act Reconsidered, passage=Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat .}}
Derived terms
* combat payVerb
- To combat with a blind man I disdain.