odbraniti

1. to defend; to protect
   Vojnici su odbranili grad od napada. — The soldiers defended the city from the attack.
   Prošle godine je odbranila titulu šampionke. — Last year she defended her championship title.
2. (odbraniti se) to defend oneself
   Uspeo je da se odbrani od napadača. — He managed to defend himself against the attacker.
3. (of a thesis) to defend
   Juče sam odbranio master rad. — Yesterday I defended my master's thesis.
4. (in sports) to save
   Golman je odbranio penal u poslednjem minutu. — The goalkeeper saved a penalty in the last minute.

The imperfective is braniti; construction: odbraniti someone/something od + gen. (from).