offense
Americannoun
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a violation or breaking of a social or moral rule; transgression; sin.
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a transgression of the law; misdemeanor.
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a cause of transgression or wrong.
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something that offends or displeases.
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the act of offending or displeasing.
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the feeling of resentful displeasure caused.
to give offense.
- Synonyms:
- wrath, resentment, umbrage, indignation
- Antonyms:
- pleasure
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the act of attacking; attack or assault.
weapons of offense.
- Synonyms:
- aggression
- Antonyms:
- defense
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a person, army, etc., that is attacking.
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Sports.
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the players or team unit responsible for attacking or scoring in a game.
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the players possessing or controlling the ball, puck, etc., or the aspects or period of a game when this obtains.
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a pattern or style of scoring attack.
single-wing offense; fast-break offense.
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offensive effectiveness; ability to score.
a total breakdown in offense.
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Archaic. injury, harm, or hurt.
Related Words
See crime.
Other Word Forms
- self-offense noun
Etymology
Origin of offense
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English offence, offense; in part from Middle French offens, from Latin offēnsus “collision, knock,” equivalent to offend(ere) ( offend ) + -tus suffix of verb action; in part from Middle French offense, ultimately from Latin offēnsa, feminine past participle of offendere
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With every swing from USC’s offense early, Nebraska seemed to have a counterpunch.
From Los Angeles Times
They’re porous defensively and have a boring, predictable offense largely consisting of alternating one-on-one isolations between their “Big Three” most every trip down the court.
From Los Angeles Times
It was jarring, to say the least, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to take from an observation like that aside from offense.
From MarketWatch
The question heading into the Division II final was whether King/Drew could slow Sylmar’s up-tempo offense — which had scored over 90 points 11 times and over 100 four times this season.
From Los Angeles Times
The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
