defending

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. speaking or writing in support of an idea or person when they are being criticized.

v. providing justification or support for a belief, statement, or individual under scrutiny.

“She spent the whole meeting defending her choice to change the project's direction.”

“The professor spent the better part of the seminar defending his controversial thesis against a barrage of criticism from his peers.”

B1 · Intermediate Sports

v. trying to win a competition that you won the previous time.

v. competing to retain a championship or title won in a previous iteration of the event.

“The young tennis player is defending her title at the tournament this week.”

“Defending a world title requires a different psychological approach than the initial pursuit of the championship.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the action of protecting something or the way a team plays to stop the other side from scoring.

n. the action of protecting from attack; in a sporting context, the collective tactical effort to prevent the opponent from scoring.

“Their defending was excellent, and the other team couldn't get near the goal.”

“The coach praised the team's disciplined defending, noting that their spatial awareness had improved significantly since the start of the season.”