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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
Health officials and civil defense workers say the true toll could be thousands more, including bodies under rubble that the United Nations says weighs 40 million tons.
—Julia Frankel and Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2024
Hussein Fakih, a spokesman for Lebanon’s civil defense, said in an interview that two people were killed and three people, including a child, were injured in a Monday strike on the road between Chaqra and Meiss El Jabal, in southeastern Lebanon.
—Jennifer Hassan, Washington Post, 29 July 2024
Firefighters, military police and the civil defense authority all dispatched teams to the crash site.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 10 Aug. 2024
The teams include firefighters, military police and the civil defense authority, the São Paulo government said in a post on X.
Firefighters completed battling the blaze from the crash site from earlier Friday afternoon, the government said in a later post on Friday.
—Antonio Planas, NBC News, 10 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for civil defense
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'civil defense.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1939, in the meaning defined above
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 Sep. 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
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about civil defense
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