fend off

verb

Etymology: fend + off

To defend against; to repel with force or effort
“They tried citronella to fend off the mosquitos, to no avail.”
“France spent large portions of the opening half in England territory and despite scoring the pick of the first-half tries - when Menager fended off Jess Breach to finish off a superb backs move - struggled to convert their chances.”
To prevent (a vessel) from running against anything with too much violence.