defend vs stick up

defend and stick up both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
defend	No	No	Yes	No
stick up	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, stick up is a hyponym of defend; that is, stick up is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than defend:

defend (verb)	stick up (verb)
argue or speak in defense of	defend against attack or criticism
state or assert	rob at gunpoint or by means of some other threat
be on the defensive; act against an attack
protect against a challenge or attack
protect or fight for as a champion
fight against or resist strongly
be the defense counsel for someone in a trial