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
The civil defense team was only able to retrieve 15 bodies and, with the ambulance full, roughly 20 were never recovered, according to the worker.
—
Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 3 Dec. 2025
McGrath brings experience overseeing complex federal prosecutions, civil defense cases and crisis management.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2025
The city had just endured nearly two weeks of frequent civil defense sirens, announcing missiles crossing Jordanian airspace during the Israel-Iran war in June.
—NPR, 26 Nov. 2025
This demands extremely fast detection, early warning, and emergency response – key capabilities for modern military and civil defense forces.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil defense
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Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 3 Dec. 2025
McGrath brings experience overseeing complex federal prosecutions, civil defense cases and crisis management.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2025
The city had just endured nearly two weeks of frequent civil defense sirens, announcing missiles crossing Jordanian airspace during the Israel-Iran war in June.
—NPR, 26 Nov. 2025
This demands extremely fast detection, early warning, and emergency response – key capabilities for modern military and civil defense forces.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil defense
Cite this Entry
“Civil defense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20defense. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.
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