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
Ben Shelton bounced back from disappointment last year by defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 to win the Munich Open on Sunday.
—
ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Cargill won the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event in November, defeating Tiffany Stratton.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Heap, a former Republican state lawmaker, was elected in 2024 after unseating incumbent Stephen Richer in the GOP primary and defeating a Democratic candidate in the general election.
—Josh Kelety, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
After defeating Brandon Ayala via fourth-round unanimous decision last July in his pro debut, Ballo improved to 2-0 with a sixth-round unanimous decision win over Juan Centeno in December.
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Otherwise, companies would have to import the components from foreign markets, defeating the FCC’s policy.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Apr. 2026
While defeating the two measures has relieved many property owners in South Hadley, budget shortfalls due to dwindling state aid and fading federal pandemic-era funds are causing local governments to search high and low for new sources of funding.
—Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
Apopka Commissioner Nick Nesta won the city’s mayoral runoff in a landslide Tuesday, defeating a longtime officeholder who had the backing of the outgoing mayor.
—Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
Tage Thompson scored twice to reach 40 goals on the season, and the Buffalo Sabres clinched the Atlantic Division title by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Monday night.
—CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Cargill won the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event in November, defeating Tiffany Stratton.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Heap, a former Republican state lawmaker, was elected in 2024 after unseating incumbent Stephen Richer in the GOP primary and defeating a Democratic candidate in the general election.
—Josh Kelety, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
After defeating Brandon Ayala via fourth-round unanimous decision last July in his pro debut, Ballo improved to 2-0 with a sixth-round unanimous decision win over Juan Centeno in December.
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Otherwise, companies would have to import the components from foreign markets, defeating the FCC’s policy.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Apr. 2026
While defeating the two measures has relieved many property owners in South Hadley, budget shortfalls due to dwindling state aid and fading federal pandemic-era funds are causing local governments to search high and low for new sources of funding.
—Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
Apopka Commissioner Nick Nesta won the city’s mayoral runoff in a landslide Tuesday, defeating a longtime officeholder who had the backing of the outgoing mayor.
—Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
Tage Thompson scored twice to reach 40 goals on the season, and the Buffalo Sabres clinched the Atlantic Division title by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Monday night.
—CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeating
Verb
-
Frank said the team could take pride in overcoming its dreadful start to come within a few victories of landing a higher seed that would have assured them a playoff spot, and posting its league-best 15th consecutive winning season.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The Halos stormed through the playoffs to this franchise's only championship, overcoming a 3-2 series deficit to Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants to win the World Series.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Outside of entertainment, mastering these issues will greatly improve humanoid robot utility in things like search and rescue, military use, industrial use, and logistics.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The online apparel retailer has become a $10 billion-plus e-commerce giant by mastering the art of the supply chain.—
Amanda Mull,
Bloomberg,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
On the throw home, Williams advanced to second, beating a tag, and Brown raced home from third to score the third run.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Deni Avdija had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Blazers, who advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 by beating the Phoenix Suns in the Play-In Tournament.—
Christian Clark,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
One after another, the avatars of Democratic success in Georgia took the stage Saturday and were greeted like conquering heroes by hundreds of party faithful at the annual Carter-Lewis gala.—
Greg Bluestein,
AJC.com,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Although Beijing has numerous options for conquering Taiwan, the most appealing for the Chinese military would begin with a partial blockade of the island, much like the one Iran imposed on the strait.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Other officers in the area saw the two men in a struggle and assisted in taking Mullins into custody, according to police.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Let’s imagine—in a case of truly terrible architectural planning—that there is only one extremely slow elevator, stopping at each floor and taking one minute per floor.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Double-down on getting voters to the polls.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Going to a zone defense slowed Minnesota down further in the fourth, but the Nuggets weren’t generating the shots they’re used to getting automatically.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Erling Haaland was the rightful match-winner, dispatching his goal with a surety that eluded Havertz on more than one occasion.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2026
-
However, the confident Vodnik is not shy about sharing his game plan on dispatching Ohtani.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Let’s imagine—in a case of truly terrible architectural planning—that there is only one extremely slow elevator, stopping at each floor and taking one minute per floor.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Schools brought in counselors for the victims’ young classmates and community leaders called for a citywide reckoning on stopping domestic violence.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defeating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeating. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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