Verteidigten
Verteidigten is a conjugated form of the German verb verteidigen, meaning to defend. It is the Präteritum (simple past) form used with plural subjects: wir verteidigten and sie verteidigten. As a finite verb form, verteidigten is not a noun and does not stand alone as a lexical item; it functions only within a sentence as a past-tense verb.
In practical use, verteidigten describes past actions of defense in a variety of contexts, including politics,
Usage notes: In everyday spoken German, the Perfekt form haben verteidigt is more common for past events,
Etymology and related terms: verteidigen is built with the prefix ver- and the root tied to defense;