defenderse

defenderse

► verbo pronominal

1 (espabilarse) to manage, get by, get along

■ ¿qué tal se defiende en inglés? how does she get by in English?, what's her English like?

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1) to protect oneself, defend oneself

2) get by

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VPR

1) (=protegerse)

defenderse de o contra — [+ calor, lluvia, sol] to protect o.s. from; [+ agresor, ataque] to defend o.s. from o against

se defendió del lobo con un palo — he defended himself against the wolf with a stick

2) (=desenvolverse) to get by

me defiendo en inglés — I can get by o along in English

gana poco pero se defiende — she doesn't earn much but she gets by

ya eres mayor, ya puedes defenderte solo — you're old enough, you can get by o manage on your own now

-¿sabes algo de ordenadores? -me defiendo — "do you know anything about computers?" - "I get by o I know a bit"

se defendió muy bien en la entrevista — she performed very well in the interview

- defenderse como un gato panza arriba

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(v.) = bite back, stand up, strike back, fight back, fight for + Posesivo + life

Ex. The article 'Book clubs bite back' points to the fact that there is evidence elsewhere in the world that book clubs are capable of thriving in markets where free pricing has been the norm.

Ex. It is time for librarians to stand up = Es el momento para que los bibliotecarios defiendan su profesión.

Ex. This paper details the attempt by Boston University to strike back at such agencies by filing a lawsuit against Internet term paper companies in the USA.

Ex. In the meanwhile, librarians could fight back by means of their chequebooks but need to be alert to the strategies by which vendors could take over their functions.

Ex. The bear was shot in his cage and was never given a sporting chance to fight for his life.

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(v.) = bite back, stand up, strike back, fight back, fight for + Posesivo + life

Ex: The article 'Book clubs bite back' points to the fact that there is evidence elsewhere in the world that book clubs are capable of thriving in markets where free pricing has been the norm.

Ex: It is time for librarians to stand up = Es el momento para que los bibliotecarios defiendan su profesión.

Ex: This paper details the attempt by Boston University to strike back at such agencies by filing a lawsuit against Internet term paper companies in the USA.

Ex: In the meanwhile, librarians could fight back by means of their chequebooks but need to be alert to the strategies by which vendors could take over their functions.

Ex: The bear was shot in his cage and was never given a sporting chance to fight for his life.

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■defenderse verbo reflexivo
1 to defend oneself
2 (resguardarse) to shelter [de, from]
3 fam (tener cierta habilidad) to get by: se defiende bien en inglés, he can get by in English
'defenderse' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
defender
English:
acquit
- hit back
- hold
- fight

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vpr

1. [protegerse] to defend oneself (de against);

me defendí como pude de sus ataques I defended myself from his attacks as best I could;

¡defiéndete, cobarde! defend yourself, you coward!

2. [apañarse] to get by;

se defiende bien en su trabajo he's getting along okay at work;

se defiende en inglés he can get by in English;

¿qué tal dibujas? – me defiendo how are you at drawing? – I'm not too bad;

¿qué tal te defiendes en o [m5]con la cocina? how good are you at cooking?;

sé defenderme sola I can look after myself

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defenderse

v/r

1 defend o.s. (de against);

defenderse del frío ward off the cold

2 fig fam

manage, get by;

me voy defendiendo I’m managing o coping

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vr

1) : to defend oneself

2) : to get by, to know the basics

su inglés no es perfecto pero se defiende: his English isn't perfect but he gets by

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defenderse vb (arreglárselas) to manage / to get by

no domino el inglés, pero me defiendo my English isn't fluent, but I get by