defeat the purpose of
idiom
: to make (something) pointless
It would defeat the purpose of having a nice car if you never got to drive it.
Examples of defeat the purpose of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The department also debunks a myth suggesting a furnace works harder than usual to warm spaces that have been left cooler, which would defeat the purpose of temporarily lowering the temperature to optimize savings.
—
Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 23 Jan. 2026
That seems to defeat the purpose of having AI in the browser; Edge has been able to do this for a couple of years without much fuss.
—PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
This would defeat the purpose of the UPEPA to free the defendant from having to further litigate the cause of action.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Generic posts without an authentic voice or compelling content defeat the purpose of trying to position the CEO as a thought leader on social media.
—Adrian Dearnell, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
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Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 23 Jan. 2026
That seems to defeat the purpose of having AI in the browser; Edge has been able to do this for a couple of years without much fuss.
—PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
This would defeat the purpose of the UPEPA to free the defendant from having to further litigate the cause of action.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Generic posts without an authentic voice or compelling content defeat the purpose of trying to position the CEO as a thought leader on social media.
—Adrian Dearnell, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defeat the purpose of
Cite this Entry
“Defeat the purpose of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defeat%20the%20purpose%20of. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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