defeat

1 of 2

verb

de·​feat di-ˈfēt 

dē-

defeated; defeating; defeats

transitive verb

1

: to win victory over : beat

defeated their archrivals in the championship game

The bill was defeated in the Senate.

2

a

: frustrate sense 2a(1)

defeat a hope

b

law : nullify

defeat an estate

3

obsolete : destroy

… his unkindness may defeat my life …

—Shakespeare

defeatable

di-ˈfē-tə-bəl 

dē-

adjective

defeat

2 of 2

noun

1

: frustration by nullification or by prevention of success

The bill suffered defeat in the Senate.

2

a

: an overthrow especially of an army in battle

celebrate their defeat of the enemy

b

: the loss of a contest

his first defeat as a professional boxer

3

obsolete : destruction

… upon whose property and most dear life a damned defeat was made.

—Shakespeare

Synonyms

Verb

• beat
• best
• conquer
• dispatch
• do down [British]
• get
• get around
• lick
• master
• overbear
• overcome
• overmatch
• prevail (over)
• skunk
• stop
• subdue
• surmount
• take
• trim
• triumph (over)
• upend
• win (against)
• worst

Noun

• beating
• drubbing
• licking
• loss
• lump
• overthrow
• plastering
• rout
• shellacking
• trimming
• trouncing
• whipping

Choose the Right Synonym for defeat

conquer, vanquish, defeat, subdue, reduce, overcome, overthrow mean to get the better of by force or strategy.

conquer implies gaining mastery of.

Caesar conquered Gaul

vanquish implies a complete overpowering.

vanquished the enemy and ended the war

defeat does not imply the finality or completeness of vanquish which it otherwise equals.

the Confederates defeated the Union forces at Manassas

subdue implies a defeating and suppression.

subdued the native tribes after years of fighting

reduce implies a forcing to capitulate or surrender.

the city was reduced after a month-long siege

overcome suggests getting the better of with difficulty or after hard struggle.

overcame a host of bureaucratic roadblocks

overthrow stresses the bringing down or destruction of existing power.

violently overthrew the old regime

Examples of defeat in a Sentence

Verb

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 bill was defeated in the state senate.

Scientists from around the world are working to defeat the disease.

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.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

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

The Democrat served as president from 1977 to 1981, defeated in his bid for reelection by Ronald Reagan. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023

The couple served in the White House after his election in 1976, when the Democrat defeated Republican President Gerald Ford in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. —Antonio Planas, NBC News, 17 Nov. 2023

Massa defeated Milei in the first round, winning 9.9 million votes, or 36.8%, to Milei's 8 million votes, or 30%. —David Unsworth, Fox News, 17 Nov. 2023

Helmer, 42, competed against Wexton for the 2018 Democratic nomination in the state’s 10th Congressional District before Wexton flipped the district blue by defeating Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) that fall. —Antonio Olivo, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023

President Biden, who defeated Mr. Trump in 2020, had derided Mr. Trump’s intense focus on the wall. —Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023

However, a pandemic where employees were consigned to their homes and obliged to keep a two meter distance from each other, plus subsequent inflation and soaring interest rates defeated that model. —Dr Byron Cole, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

The round-robin winners advanced to the semifinals, where Italy defeated Slovenia, and Canada defeated the Czech Reoublic. Italy and Canada are facing off in the Billie Jean King Cup finals for the first time. —Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Nov. 2023

Noun

When Rams have the ball (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Quarterback Matthew Stafford returns to the lineup after sitting out a defeat to the Green Bay Packers because of a right-thumb sprain. —Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2023

In Bowman's case, Latimer is also white, meaning a Bowman defeat would remove a person of color from Democrats' ranks. —Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023

There is no evidence that too much liberty during Covid led to pro-life defeats. —Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 15 Nov. 2023

Despite the narrow defeat the first time, Mayor Shirley Washington successfully petitioned the Pine Bluff City Council over the summer to return the measures to the ballot. —I.c. Murrell, arkansasonline.com, 15 Nov. 2023

That ignorance is at once a major victory, and a minor defeat. —Irv Erdos, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Nov. 2023

Six years after Napoleon Bonaparte’s death, and just 12 after his final defeat at Waterloo, his presence still loomed massively over the Western world. —David A. Bell, WSJ, 9 Nov. 2023

Victory would turn him into a big GOP star; defeat would dim those ambitions. —Mark Murray, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2023

Prominent Israeli officials have called not simply for the defeat of Hamas but for the annihilation of Gaza, the starving of its population, and the removal of Palestinians from some or all of its territory. —Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English defeten, defaiten "to ruin, destroy, nullify," in part verbal derivative of defet "disfigured, null and void (in law)," borrowed from Anglo-French defait, defet, desfet, past participle of defaire, desfaire "to undo, put an end to, destroy, nullify," from de-, des- de- + faire "to do, make," going back to Latin facere; in part borrowed from Anglo-French defeter, derivative of defet — more at fact

Noun

in part noun derivative of defeat entry 1, in part borrowed from Middle French defaite, noun derivative from feminine of defait, past participle of defaire, desfaire "to undo, destroy, kill" — more at defeat entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Noun

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing defeat

• in defeat
• go down to defeat
• defeat the purpose of
• admit defeat
• concede defeat
• the jaws of defeat

• in defeat
• go down to defeat
• defeat the purpose of
• admit defeat
• concede defeat
• the jaws of defeat

Kids Definition

defeat

1 of 2 verb

de·​feat di-ˈfēt 

1

: to destroy the value or effect of

the lawyers defeated the will

2

: to win a victory over

defeated their team

defeatable

-ˈfēt-ə-bəl 

adjective

defeat

2 of 2 noun

1

: the act or an instance of making ineffective by prevention of success

the bill suffered defeat by Congress

the defeat of one's hopes

2

a

: an overthrow of an army in battle

b

: loss of a contest (as by a team)

Legal Definition

defeat

transitive verb

de·​feat

1

a

: to render null

third parties will defeat an attached but “unperfected” security interest

—J. J. White and R. S. Summers

b

: to prevent or undo the effectiveness or establishment of

defeat jurisdiction

defendant took stand and defeated intoxication defense

—National Law Journal

2

a

: to prevail over

b

: to thwart the claim of

defeat creditors

an intent to defeat the surviving spouse of his…elective share

—Tennessee Code Annotated

defeat noun

Etymology

Transitive verb

Anglo-French defait, past participle of defaire to undo, defeat, from Old French deffaire desfaire, from de-, prefix marking reversal of action + faire to do