How to Use defeat in a Sentence

defeat

1 of 2 verb

• The bill was defeated in the state senate.
• Scientists from around the world are working to defeat the disease.
• We must be ready to defeat our enemies in battle.
• Our candidate defeated him in the last election.
• She finally found a solution to a problem that had defeated many other researchers.
• The poll showed Biden would defeat Trump in the state by five points.
  — Brian Bushard, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
• The Witches defeated the Falcons (0-2) for the first time in 15 years.
  — Nate Weitzer, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Sep. 2023
• The last couple of months, Tatum has felt defeated at times.
  — Journal Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2024
• If the Bears defeat the Packers to improve to 8-9, Chicago will finish third and the Vikings will be fourth.
  — Christopher Kuhagen, Journal Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2024
• This year was at home against a team the Toreros had defeated 2-0 in September.
  — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Nov. 2023
• In this game, each basket is worth 1 point and the freshman class defeats the sophomore class 5-4.
  — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
• But not everyone backs a pause in violence; some in the crowd said defeating Hamas would be the best way to bring the hostages home.
  — Alexander Smith, NBC News, 31 Oct. 2023
• The Lady Knights defeated six teams in the final home meet to end the regular season 16-4.
  — Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
• The pair set off on major adventures around the globe searching for ways to defeat Black Manta.
  — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Dec. 2023
• When Yeni got back from the appointment, she felt defeated.
  — Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
• Japan defeated Norway on Saturday, 3-1, in the round of 16.
  — Sean Gregory, Time, 6 Aug. 2023
• Nixon objected to the hiring of Vanocur, who was known to be close to Kennedy, who defeated him in the 1960 presidential race.
  — Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
• Phillips has laid out one chief campaign goal: Ensuring Democrats defeat Trump in 2024.
  — Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2023
• Less than an hour in, the first racer waved his boat over and struggled aboard, defeated by the appalling conditions.
  — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2023
• Without much daylight between Roth and himself, Green didn’t have as strong a desire to defeat him.
  — Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2023
• Every Marvel movie has that scene where the hero, nearly defeated, rises to his feet.
  — Peter Sohn, Men's Health, 31 May 2023
• Four days later, Faus struck out four and walked one in an 8-0 win against Downey, which defeated Cypress earlier in the season.
  — Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 10 Apr. 2024
• The Marines training to protect commercial ships will have to arm themselves to defeat a variety of threats.
  — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 8 Aug. 2023
• In order to defeat Boswer, players collect the eponymous Wonder seeds.
  — WIRED, 20 Oct. 2023
• And over in the Soft Baits region, another 7 seed (the underdog Worm) defeated the 2-seed Jerkbait.
  — Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024
• The group was defeated in Syria, losing its last sliver of land in 2019, but its sleeper cells remain in both countries.
  — Qassim Abdul-Zahra The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 25 Feb. 2024
• Any resources that could be useful for defeating a Chinese attack along the first island chain should be reserved to that end.
  — Time, 14 July 2023
• His remarks focused on what Israel shouldn’t do in Gaza rather than on how to defeat the Hamas terrorists who are still holding around 140 hostages.
  — Garry Kasparov, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2023
• With the Voice defeated, hopes for a federal commission to explore treaty-making and truth-telling appear to be dashed.
  — Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023
• Kulkarni defeated Horlander again in a rematch two years later, racking up about 78% of the vote.
  — The Courier-Journal, 19 Mar. 2024

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defeat

2 of 2 noun

• We weren't prepared for defeat.
• One small error could make the difference between success and defeat.
• After several tries we were forced to accept defeat.
• They celebrated their defeat of the enemy.
• The Nuggets' center had a game-high 53 points in the defeat.
  — Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY, 8 May 2023
• For Cole, the grand slam, spearheaded by the Reyes at-bat, signaled defeat.
  — Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2023
• The move ends one, but not all, of her court cases related to her 2022 defeat.
  — Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024
• In five games, the Jaguars’ average margin of defeat is 102.2 points.
  — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2024
• The only defeats by Las Lomas this season occurred before the start of the new year.
  — Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
• For those who aren’t so lucky to win the cool billion, a sweet sugary treat will at least help wash out that bitter taste of defeat.
  — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2023
• Rozier closed the defeat with 27 points, six rebounds and 11 assists.
  — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
• After that, defeat devices seemed to lose traction for a while.
  — Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
• The Bearcats went 1-4 after the dismissal of the two coaches beating Houston on the road, then losing the next four with three of those being one-run defeats.
  — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 24 May 2023
• Up by one goal on their rival from Los Angeles, the Wave allowed a pair of scores in the final 22 minutes and took a 2-1 defeat.
  — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 June 2023
• Turning over the ball 15 times and never winning the turnover game factored into the Chargers’ five defeats.
  — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2024
• And make no mistake: The defeat of Ohio’s Issue 1 is undoubtedly due to that large turnout.
  — Alex Thomas, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2023
• For every big victory, there will be at least one small defeat.
  — Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
• And with Goliath, their champion, now slain, the Philistines accept defeat.
  — Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2024
• The Padres spent the previous night bludgeoning them, pounding away at a bullpen that collapsed in an 11-run defeat.
  — Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, 23 July 2023
• The loss likely irked the famously intense New York sports fan, but Lee could at least leave the defeat knowing his watch game was a homerun.
  — Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 16 Aug. 2023
• After three young Black players missed penalty kicks in the 2021 defeat, they were subjected to racist slurs.
  — Mark Landler, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2023
• The monologue pivots around the moment when Israel was on the brink of defeat and Meir awaits word of military support from the United States.
  — Terry Byrne, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Aug. 2023
• Hitler and Goebbels, of course, died by their own hands in defeat, having left tens of millions of Europeans dead and their country in ruins.
  — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
• Both Flynn and Bannon played a key role in Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
  — Marshall Cohen, CNN, 17 July 2023
• Their final home game ended Wednesday night with a 67-57 loss to Boston College, their eighth defeat in a row.
  — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024
• There are numerous scenarios, too, in which even a defeat — coupled with a Norway win or tie to the Philippines — could push the Swiss through.
  — Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 28 July 2023
• And if past experience is a gauge, then the president and his AK Party may not take a defeat lying down.
  — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 12 May 2023
• Following the defeat of Issue 1, LaRose blamed the loss on the spending from outside interests.
  — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2023
• But for a select bunch, following the short-term party goals increases the long-term chance of electoral defeat.
  — Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 2 May 2023
• The flood of laws in various states emerged following false allegations of voting fraud in the wake of Trump’s 2020 defeat.
  — Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2024

Last Updated: 3 May 2024