assault vs defense

assault

noun
  • An act that causes someone to apprehend imminent bodily harm (such as brandishing a weapon). 

  • A non-competitive combat between two fencers. 

  • A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc. 

  • A violent verbal attack, for example with insults, criticism, and the like 

  • An attempt to commit battery: a violent attempt, or willful effort with force or violence, to do hurt to another, but without necessarily touching the person, such as by raising a fist in a threatening manner, or by striking at the person and missing. 

  • The tort whose action is such an act. 

  • The crime whose action is such an attempt. 

verb
  • To threaten or harass. 

  • To attack, physically or figuratively; to assail. 

defense

noun
  • The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury. 

  • Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military. 

  • A strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offense. 

  • The case presented by the defendant in a legal proceeding. 

  • The lawyer or team thereof who presents such a case. 

  • The portion of a team dedicated to preventing the other team from scoring; contrasted with offense. 

How often have the words assault and defense occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )