fend off

phrasal verb

fended off; fending off; fends off

: to defend oneself against (someone or something)

They succeeded in fending off the attack/attackers.

They have had to fend off allegations of voter fraud.

Examples of fend off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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More than a dozen foreign peacekeepers, as well as the military governor of North Kivu province, have been killed in recent days trying to fend off the rebels, as thousands of locals flee their advance into Goma. —

Nimi Princewill, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025 The city has asserted that Johnson was shot amid chaos during which police officers manning a skirmish line were fending off bottles and rocks being thrown at them. —

Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025 At a shareholder meeting on Thursday, the Choi family will seek to retain management rights for Korea Zinc and fend off a takeover attempt by Young Poong, still controlled by the Chang family. —

Daisuke Wakabayashi, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025 In particular, Iran wants sophisticated Russian weapons like long-range air defense systems and fighter jets to help fend off possible attacks by Israel. —

Vladimir Isachenkov, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for fend off