offense
Etymology

From Middle English offence, from Old French offense, from Latin offensa.

Pronunciation
  • IPA: /əˈfɛns/
  • (team sports senses, especially in the U.S.) IPA: /ˈɔf.ɛns/, /ˈɑf.ɛns/)
Noun

offense (American spelling)

  1. The act of offending.
    1. A crime or sin.
      • 1855, Frederick Douglass, chapter 3, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York, Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC ↗:
        The slave fully appreciates the saying, "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." When old master's gestures were violent, ending with a threatening shake of the head, and a sharp snap of his middle finger and thumb, I deemed it wise to keep at a respectable distance from him; for, at such times, trifling faults stood, in his eyes, as momentous offenses; and, having both the power and the disposition, the victim had only to be near him to catch the punishment, deserved or undeserved.
    2. An affront, injury, or insult.
      • 1681, John Dryden, “The Preface to Ovid’s Epistles ↗”, in Ovid, Ovid's Epistles, […], 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC ↗, page 26 ↗:
        Thus I have ventur'd to give my Opinion on this Subject againſt the Authority of two great men, but I hope without offence either to their Memories, for I both lov'd them living, and reverence them now they are dead.
  2. The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure.
  3. (team sports) A strategy and tactics employed when in position to score; contrasted with defense.
  4. (team sports) The portion of a team dedicated to scoring when in position to do so; contrasted with defense.
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