de·fund
| \ (ˌ)dē-ˈfənd
\
\
defunded; defunding; defunds
Definition of defund
: to withdraw funding from
Examples of defund in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lightfoot has publicly rejected calls to defund the police and privately girded against such efforts.
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Gregory Pratt, chicagotribune.com, "2 years after her election, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot hasn’t yet fulfilled key campaign promises," 2 Apr. 2021
Amid a nationwide push to defund the police last summer, LA city officials voted to cut $150 million from the LAPD's nearly $2 billion budget, reducing the number of officers on the street from 9,988 to 9,757 by this summer.
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Paul Best, Fox News, "LA County increases police funding by $36 million after defund movement backfires," 28 Mar. 2021
Floyd's death quickly became a watershed moment in the city's history, leading to widespread unrest, a state human rights investigation and calls to defund, or even abolish, the police department.
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Libor Jany, Star Tribune, "Chauvin case draws inevitable comparisons to another high-profile police murder trial," 27 Mar. 2021
A month earlier, George Floyd had died while a white Minneapolis police officer was kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes, sparking protest marches around the world and calls by activists to defund the police.
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Emilie Eaton, San Antonio Express-News, "Arrest of San Antonio fire chief's youngest son leads to a rift between top city leaders," 24 Mar. 2021
For example, lawmakers could use their appropriations power to defund an ongoing military operation.
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Daniel Depetris, National Review, "Joe Biden Shouldn’t Be Able to Start Wars on His Own," 16 Mar. 2021
At the same time, Congress is considering its own role in police reform, taking up legislation driven by the summer’s uprisings and demands to defund the police.
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Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, "A Trial Can’t Bring Justice for George Floyd," 9 Mar. 2021
The social movement to defund or reform police comes as tax revenues to large cities have cratered because of Covid-19.
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Peter Nickeas, CNN, "Why sweeping police reform over the last year has largely been elusive," 7 Mar. 2021
Show me the words in the bill to defund the police.
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Donna Owens, Essence, "House Passes the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act," 4 Mar. 2021
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'defund.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Last Updated
14 Apr 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Defund.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defund. Accessed 17 Apr. 2021.
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Time Traveler for defund
The first known use of defund was in 1948
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