Defense vs Defence: What is the Difference?
Defense or Defence — That is the Question It’s no different from the age-old debate between cats vs dogs, tea vs coffee or pineapple on pizza versus … not having it there — and that is a whole other argument for another day. However, in this passage we will finally resolve the defense vs defence issue. Relax, it’s easier than you would imagine!
Our Distinct Difference: Being Specific
Geography accounts for the primary distinction between defence and defense, similar to how individuals can not agree on irrespective of whether “aluminium” ought to be pronounced al-U-MIN-um or u-LU-min-le. Ah, the mysteries of life!). Here’s the breakdown:
Defense: This is the American English spelling. Which, if you are sipping tea and eating crumpets with a picture of the Queen on your wall… will more than likely spell it as “realise.
This spelling is American EnglishDefense If you’re eating a burger, rooting for the New York Yankees or feel an eagle inside your heart soaring high then chances are you may be on team “s”
Usage in Sentences
British English (Defence):
The castle was well-defended against anyone who tried to take it by force.
“His brave acts of defence won him the medal.”),
American English (Defense):
Shielded, The football teams defense.
She is one of the top debaters in America.
Why the Difference?
Well, you can thank Noah Webster for that one: enterprising American lexicographer who was really into English spelling simplification. He thought, hell why use a c when s will do. And so he set out to simplify English for the Americans, and that is why defense exists in the US. The British, meanwhile, continued to beat the defence drum. Fine, they like their spare letters meh? (That´s color, flavor and honor to you… they like a “u” then…)
A Little Humour, Just for Fun
Picture a pair of soldiers running into one another on the battlefield — take, say, a Brit and an American:
British Soldier: “Smoke the gun for us to secure our defences better?”
American Soldier: “OK, but before that we discuss about our defense strategies!”
British Soldier: Raises an eyebrow “We’re on the same turf, mate.
American Soldier: “Eh, only if you let go of the ‘c’!”
Might as well have a tea or hot dog and share some laughs!
In conclusion: to each his own.
Your choice of whether you use defence or defense isn’t going to matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of things — but it might if your writing an academic paper, so be sure to make note. The key is consistency. Pick a spelling depending on your target audience or location and you should be good to go.
Therefore, the next time you are arguing about defence vs defense just remember — location and English version. And if that fails you can always forget using the word altogether and default to something sanitized like, well, perhaps “protection. Easy, right?
But at the end of day, whether you are on defense or defencing (you get my drift), it is most important to know that each term specifies a distinct English language concept included in your next dic pic.