defense vs mainstay

defense

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

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

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

mainstay

noun
  • A chief support. 

  • Someone or something that can be depended on to make a regular contribution. 

  • A stabilising rope from the top of the mainmast to the bottom of the foremast. 

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