civil defense

noun

: the system of protective measures and emergency relief activities conducted by civilians in case of hostile attack, sabotage, or natural disaster

Examples of civil defense in a Sentence

She's in training to be part of the local civil defense. the head of civil defense
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recommended Trump’s inroads with Black voters test Harris in North Carolina Gaza’s civil defense agency, which carries out search and rescue operations, said it was forced to pull out of northern Gaza due to threats from Israeli forces. Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Oct. 2024 The spokesman of the Gaza civil defense said that entire families were wiped out and that between 20 to 40 tents were destroyed. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR, 10 Sep. 2024 While speaking with Pagina 12, Fabian Garcia, the undersecretary of civil defense for the municipality, said that rescue teams were using sounds to find those trapped. Matthew Impelli and Jon Jackson follow, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024 Last month, Lai held the first meeting of a civil defense committee aimed at keep the archipelago resilient in any emergency. Yian Lee and Philip Glamann / Bloomberg, TIME, 14 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for civil defense 

Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of civil defense was in 1939

Dictionary Entries Near civil defense

Cite this Entry

“Civil defense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20defense. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

civil defense

noun
: protective actions and emergency relief activities carried on by civilians in case of enemy attack or natural disaster

More from Merriam-Webster on civil defense

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!