How to Use the defense in a Sentence

the defense

noun
  • Clean games by both the defense and bullpen?
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 14 May 2026
  • This month, the defense has stepped up.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
  • That’s when the defense bowed its neck.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
  • No, the defense isn’t great in front of them.
    — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Yes, this all could have been worse for the defense.
    — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Downs would fill a big need on the defense, too.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
  • The change of plan is in part due to protests by the defense.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 May 2025
  • Prescott then used a hard count to get the defense to show its hand.
    — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • In fact, there weren’t any words from a large swath of the defense.
    — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
  • The easy thing here is to blame the defense, which has not played great.
    — James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Welch and the defense held off the Cougars.
    — Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 26 Feb. 2026
  • As a whole, the defense failed to get to Rodgers.
    — Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Put pucks behind the defense and go to work.
    — Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026
  • In both games, the defense failed to stop the run and was gashed by chunk plays.
    — Mike Defabo, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • And some help from the defense would be timely.
    — ABC News, 10 June 2026
  • Can the defense fix its big-play problem?
    — Chad Graff, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The running back has played well and the defense has played well.
    — Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Guys cover the ball, and the defense played very well tonight.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Now, the defense on the other hand?
    — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The bullpen was good from there, but the defense was even better.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 12 July 2025
  • The team used two first-round picks to bolster the defense.
    — Briana Aldridge, CBS News, 18 June 2026
  • The judge has not yet ruled on the defense motion to change venue.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
  • Who will run the defense next season?
    — Chad Graff, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • That, in a sense, should be the mind-set of the defense overall.
    — Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Worse yet, though, three turnovers by the defense led to just seven points.
    — Andrew Hughes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
  • East’s ace won the last trick for the defense, and South made his game.
    — Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2024
  • But the defense could be addressed.
    — Eric Stephens, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Both the state and the defense were in agreement with the order.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Self likes guards who can get downhill and put pressure on the defense.
    — Cj Moore, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Will be a box safety and enforcer for the defense.
    — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 7 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the defense.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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