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.
Taiwan is conducting its largest-ever annual military preparedness drills alongside extensive civil defense exercises aimed at mobilizing a whole-of-society response in the event of conflict with China. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026 On Saturday, recovery operations concluded at the Karam Building in Gaza after 19 bodies were found under the rubble, according to the Gaza civil defense. — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 9 Aug. 2026 The Fort Worth City Council will reconsider whether to approve increasing the spending limit on former police officer Aaron Dean’s civil defense. — Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Aug. 2026 Another focus of the military drills, reflecting Taiwan’s longstanding emphasis on civil defense, are urban resilience drills. — ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026 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

Rhymes for civil defense

See All Rhymes for civil defense

Browse Nearby Words

civil death
civil defense
civil disobedience
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Civil defense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20defense. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

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

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about 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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All