defeats 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of defeat

defeats

2 of 2

noun

plural of defeat

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of defeats
Verb
See video … WATCH CHARLIE HURT – Shutting the government down defeats the whole purpose of the Democratic Party. FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025 Mighty Bhima, strongest of the Pandava brothers, defeats Duryodhana by breaking his thighs and crushing his genitals with his mace, literally hitting him below the belt. Seamus Sullivan september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025 Providing a narrow network or mail-order-only option defeats the purpose. Wendy Barnes, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025 Getting vaccinated too early defeats the purpose. Eileen Finan, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025 Some contend that going into the office defeats the purpose with many teams spread out across cities and time zones. Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025 Texas voted for Trump by double digits last year, but Democrats are hopeful the race could become competitive next year—particularly if Paxton defeats Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025 Crosser noted that just before Black Hat, Zoom released a patch that defeats the TURNt attack, but Teams is still vulnerable. PC Magazine, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
Sealing the deal averted a potential Azeri invasion to secure unfettered access after Azerbaijan’s forces inflicted heavy defeats on Armenia’s army in 2020 and 2023 and pushed 120,000 Armenians out of Nagorno-Karabakh. Michele Crestani, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025 Four of those have been defeats, including this loss to Midtjylland which saw Forest concede two more goals to set-pieces in a chaotic first half. Sam Joseph, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025 Thursday’s loss passed the Rockies by the 1935 Boston Braves on the modern NL ineptitude list, as those Braves that featured Babe Ruth in his final season finished with 115 defeats. Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025 The legal defeats have not stopped Robinson from continuing to pose as a film producer. Jake Kanter, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025 The issue is whether the focus remains, as promised, on celebrating the team’s victories (or consoling their defeats). Judith Martin, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025 The show of support for CoreCivic comes as the private prison company has suffered a string of legal defeats in Kansas state court in recent months. Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2025 Despite the defeats, his investment in Cracker Barrel has been extraordinarily profitable. Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2025 The result meant Ecuador completed qualifying with just two defeats in 18 games. Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeats
Verb
  • However, the new fuel cell overcomes this challenge with its lightweight design.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Saginaw’s surge overcomes Boswell The Pioneers of Boswell dominated play in the opening half, building a 21-0 lead that looked rock solid behind a persistent defense and an offense balanced with good running and passing.
    Pat Wheeler, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Research suggests that older adults struggle more to anticipate financial losses, have higher levels of trust for strangers and have a lower ability to detect deceptions compared with younger adults.
    Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2025
  • The trades allegedly masked hundreds of millions in investor losses.
    Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Avoiding collapses like the fourth quarter on Saturday will be paramount in doing so.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The recent collapses were a result of hurricanes Humberto and Imelda, which made a mess of the Atlantic Ocean in the coastal waters off the Outer Banks.
    Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This storied sandwich is served each year at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia; and many have long tried to replicate the recipe, which seemingly masters the perfect ratio of ingredients for classic egg salad.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Focus is difficult and hardly anyone masters the skill.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The setbacks last year were against Oregon and Penn State, the latter game being in the College Football Playoff.
    Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Plus, the team will surely look to upgrade its starting rotation after a series of injuries and setbacks drove its early exit.
    Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Recently, researchers in China created two new AI systems to improve the safety and efficiency of fusion energy experiments by predicting plasma failures with extreme accuracy.
    Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Overproduction comes from forecasting failures or execution mistakes, said Chan, adding that AI is not just about better demand predictions, but helping businesses make real-time decisions with accuracy.
    Lauren Parker, Sourcing Journal, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • On that front, scale beats rhetoric and right now, China has both.
    Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Or Miami wins, but Georgia Tech only loses one or two conferences games, then beats Georgia, in which case the ’Canes and Jackets might both get in.
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The film stars Vahid Mubasseri as a mechanic with painful kidney injuries from prison beatings who first follows the distinctive thumping sound of a prosthetic leg that’s etched on his brain and sets the plot in motion.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2025
  • More than two dozen arrests were made in Goons beatings across the East Valley in the first half of 2024.
    Elena Santa Cruz, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Defeats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeats. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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