Fencing is a sport where two competitors duel with thin swords, trying to touch each other with the blade's tip while avoiding being touched themselves. Modern fencing developed from the sword fighting techniques that European nobles and soldiers once used in actual combat. Today's fencers wear protective white uniforms and mesh masks, and electronic sensors detect when someone scores a touch.

There are three types of fencing weapons. The foil is light and flexible, and you can only score by touching your opponent's torso. The épée is heavier and stiffer, and any touch anywhere on the body counts. The saber is the fastest weapon: you can score with the blade's edge or tip, and touches above the waist count.

Fencing requires lightning-fast reflexes, clever strategy, and intense concentration. A fencer must read their opponent's movements, set traps, and react in fractions of a second. The sport combines the physical demands of sprinting with the mental chess match of anticipating what your opponent will do next.

The word fencing can also mean building fences or the fences themselves, as in “The ranch needed new fencing to keep the horses contained.”