defense mechanism
4
4.1
- noun
- /dɪˈfɛns ˈmɛkənɪzəm/
- Specialized
:
mecanismo de defensa
- And things that have evolved as defense mechanisms usually have attendant costs.
You might have to integrate this frog defense mechanism into your toolbox.
- You might have to integrate this frog defense mechanism into your toolbox.
- It's like a self-defense mechanism that keeps the deer from munching down your crop.
- Your body starts ramping up its defence mechanisms to stop you, stop you losing too much of your valuable tissue.
- But essentially, yes, there are defense mechanisms in plants that help the plants but also can help us, right?
- So to keep with this concept of the patterns are often more observable than are the underlying defense mechanisms.
- And in a way that's that what it's going on all around our body all the time as a natural defence mechanism.
Examples
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As the local immune defense mechanisms are diminished, the bacteria proliferate.
Academic text (2006) -
It's one of the body's defense mechanisms.
Fiction book (1990) -
The point is, animals have active defense mechanisms.
Blog text (29) -
But essentially, yes, there are defense mechanisms in plants that help the plants but also can help us, right?
-
In this respect, separatism is a kind of defense mechanism against what is perceived as a threat to local interests.
Academic text (1999) -
Some experts believe that a potbelly might be the body's defense mechanism against stress.
Blog text (32) -
Such damage breaks down the normal defense mechanisms in the ear canal, which allows keratin debris to accumulate.
Academic text (2006) -
Cabbage is known for glucosinolates, an antioxidant that's incredibly important to building the body's defense mechanisms.
Blog text (28) -
Plants have developed a variety of defense mechanisms to protect themselves from herbivores and diseases.
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The human body has several defense mechanisms, like fevers and inflammation, that work to fight off infections.
Synonyms
460
1.4
Protection from attack, danger, harm, or illness
An action that keeps someone safe from danger
Antonyms
How Protective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'defense' (protection) with 'mechanism' (a system or means): it denotes a system/feature that protects an organism. This compositional pattern is literal and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Defense mechanism comes from the image of natural tools like a turtle's shell or a plant's bitter taste that keep animals away. Here defense means 'protection' and mechanism means 'a way of working', so it names the traits that help plants and animals avoid harm.