defund

verb

de·​fund (ˌ)dē-ˈfənd 

defunded; defunding; defunds

transitive verb

: to withdraw funding from

Examples of defund in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The skill isn’t spreadsheets or KPIs but having the stamina to defund something that’s quietly working, then sit with the people who built and loved it. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

The shooting deaths in Minnesota of former Kansas City resident Renee Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti had also sparked efforts to defund the agency. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026

In January, the University of Arkansas School of Law reversed the hiring of a new dean who had signalled support for transgender students after Republican state legislators threatened to defund the school. — Benjamin Wofford, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Lawmakers threatened to defund the state archive in response. — Charlotte Observer, 19 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for defund

• fecund
• refund
• rotund
• secund
• and
• bund
• fund
• gunned
• hund
• mund
• shunned
• stunned