Definition of "parry"

parry

/ˈpæɹi/

verb
third-person singular simple present parries, present participle parrying, simple past and past participle parried
1. To avoid, deflect, or ward off (an attack, a blow, an argument, etc.).
  Quotations
  One had to be on one's guard when thus confronted and, in the course of my numerous meetings with him, I had on occasion to exercise all my wits and be prepared at a moment's notice to parry a very awkward question, to which I would much rather have given a considered reply.
  1944 March and April, Chas. S. Lake, “Some C.M.Es. I Have Known: VIII—Sir H. N. Gresley”, in Railway Magazine, page 74
  Wojciech Szczesny was then called into action twice in a minute to parry fierce drives from Djebbour and Torossidis as Arsenal's back four looked all at sea.
  2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport‎
noun
plural parries
1. A defensive or deflective action; an act of parrying.
2. (fencing) A simple defensive action designed to deflect an attack, performed with the forte of the blade.
3. (combat sports and martial arts) A defensive move intended to change the direction of an incoming strike to make it miss its intended target, rather than block and absorb it; and typically performed with an open hand in a downward or sideways slapping motion.