as in overcoming
to achieve a victory over
they defeated their archrivals easily and moved into the next round of the play-offs
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Recent Examples of defeating
The Lancers won their conference tournament by defeating Utah Tech and Utah Valley, with both matches going to penalty kicks.
—
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 10 Nov. 2025
Ole Miss wound up defeating Oklahoma 34-26 in Norman.
—Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
The Indians opened the playoffs by defeating La Quinta of La Quinta 38-21 on Thursday.
—Michael Huntley, Oc Register, 8 Nov. 2025
Losing the non-Jokic minutes For Golden State to have any chance of defeating the Nuggets, the team would need to win the minutes that Nikola Jokic did not play.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
Polls show the race tightening as Mamdani looks to hold his lead after defeating Cuomo in a stunning upset in the June primary.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
His team fell one win — one run — short of defeating baseball’s behemoth in the World Series.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
And yet, somehow, the nearly two-touchdown-underdog Carolina Panthers surprised one of the best teams in the NFL on Sunday, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 16-13 — thanks to great defense and a final drive that was punctuated by a 49-yard kick from rookie Ryan Fitzgerald as time expired.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
In 2024, Westerman easily won reelection, defeating Democrat Risie Howard with 73% of the vote.
—Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2025
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 10 Nov. 2025
Ole Miss wound up defeating Oklahoma 34-26 in Norman.
—Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
The Indians opened the playoffs by defeating La Quinta of La Quinta 38-21 on Thursday.
—Michael Huntley, Oc Register, 8 Nov. 2025
Losing the non-Jokic minutes For Golden State to have any chance of defeating the Nuggets, the team would need to win the minutes that Nikola Jokic did not play.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
Polls show the race tightening as Mamdani looks to hold his lead after defeating Cuomo in a stunning upset in the June primary.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
His team fell one win — one run — short of defeating baseball’s behemoth in the World Series.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
And yet, somehow, the nearly two-touchdown-underdog Carolina Panthers surprised one of the best teams in the NFL on Sunday, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 16-13 — thanks to great defense and a final drive that was punctuated by a 49-yard kick from rookie Ryan Fitzgerald as time expired.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
In 2024, Westerman easily won reelection, defeating Democrat Risie Howard with 73% of the vote.
—Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeating
Verb
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DiMarco’s participation became a highlight of the event, with the student asking thoughtful questions about overcoming imposter syndrome and handling rejection.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
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And that religion, like music, can carry the sound of struggle – but also the hope of one day overcoming the injustices and inequalities of everyday life.—
Ken Chitwood,
The Conversation,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But Musk, a sci-fi fan, has long been focused on humanity colonizing Mars and mastering space travel.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The mastering guy gets more lines than the entire E Street Band.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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With mixer on medium speed, gradually add heavy cream, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until combined after each addition, 1 to 2 minutes total.—
Amanda Holstein,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
-
On Saturday, that meant beating the Syracuse Orange 38-10 at Hard Rock Stadium.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And when was conquering ever a good thing?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
These terrorists are going about on a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When in doubt, close the page and verify the URL before taking any action.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Roan ended up taking home the trophy.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The Big Ten pushed for a model that would have each power conference receive multiple automatic bids, with the Big Ten and SEC each receiving four and the ACC and Big 12 each getting two.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
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And the back part of that is that the most fun is getting to act opposite people who are incredibly good, which is true for this cast.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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After dispatching Matt last week, the Ulis took Jason out this week to give themselves the numbers heading towards another tribe swap next week.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Oct. 2025
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This aunt would look into the ball and see the face of some distant relative, and then announce that the family would be having an unexpected visitor, before dispatching someone to the butcher’s to buy the very best pork chops for the occasion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Federal judge Julia Kobick in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Administration from enforcing the policy against Orr and six other individual plaintiffs in April.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
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Now, a passenger aircraft that can complete make the journey without stopping is in the final stages of construction, Qantas announced on Friday, releasing first images of the plane as it is assembled.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defeating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeating. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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