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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
While speaking with Pagina 12, Fabian Garcia, the undersecretary of civil defense for the municipality, said that rescue teams were using sounds to find those trapped.
—Matthew Impelli and Jon Jackson
follow, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
Last month, Lai held the first meeting of a civil defense committee aimed at keep the archipelago resilient in any emergency.
—Yian Lee and Philip Glamann / Bloomberg, TIME, 14 Oct. 2024
More than 200 people have been killed as the Israeli military’s offensive in northern Gaza enters its ninth day, Gaza’s civil defense said.
—NBC News, 13 Oct. 2024
Beirut residents left reeling from Israeli strikes In the Burj Abi Haidar neighborhood of central Beirut, civil defense workers dug through concrete and twisted metal from a three-story building brought down the day before — the deadliest Israeli air raid to hit the capital over the last year.
—Bassem Mroue, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for civil defense
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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 16 Nov. 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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