Definitions for defeat
dɪˈfitde·feat

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. defeat, lickingnoun

   an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest

   "it was a narrow defeat"; "the army's only defeat"; "they suffered a convincing licking"

2. frustration, defeatverb

   the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals

3. get the better of, overcome, defeatverb

   win a victory over

   "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up"

4. kill, shoot down, defeat, vote down, vote outverb

   thwart the passage of

   "kill a motion"; "he shot down the student's proposal"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. defeatnoun

   The act of defeating or being defeated

2. defeatverb

   To overcome in battle or contest.

   Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.

3. defeatverb

   To destroy, ruin, undo, lay waste to.

4. defeatverb

   To nullify; to reduce, to nothing, the strength of.

5. Etymology: from desfait, from the verb desfaire des + faciō (to unmake).

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. DEFEATnoun

   Etymology: from defaire, French.

   1. The overthrow of an army.

   End Marlb’rough’s work, and finish the defeat. Addison.

   2. Act of destruction; deprivation.

   A king, upon whose life
   A damn’d defeat was made. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

2. To Defeatverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To overthrow.

   Ye gods, ye make the weak most strong;
   Therein, ye gods, ye tyrants do defeat. William Shakespeare, Jul. Cæsar.

   They invaded Ireland, and were defeated by the lord Mountjoy. Francis Bacon, on the War with Spain.

   2. To frustrate.

   To his accusations
   He pleaded still not guilty, and alleg’d
   Many sharp reasons to defeat the law. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.

   Death,
   Then due by sentence when thou did’st transgress,
   Defeated of his seizure, many days,
   Giv’n thee of grace. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. i. l. 254.

   Discover’d, and defeated of your prey,
   You skulk’d. John Dryden, Virg. Past. 3.

   He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being, that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes. John Tillotson.

   3. To abolish.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. defeat

   Defeat is the act of being beaten or subdued in a competition, conflict, or struggle. It refers to the state of losing against an opponent, whether in a literal game, battle, or any form of contest, or metaphorically in terms of failing to achieve a goal or objective. It is the opposite of victory or success.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defeatverb

   to undo; to disfigure; to destroy

2. Defeatverb

   to render null and void, as a title; to frustrate, as hope; to deprive, as of an estate

3. Defeatverb

   to overcome or vanquish, as an army; to check, disperse, or ruin by victory; to overthrow

4. Defeatverb

   to resist with success; as, to defeat an assault

5. Defeat

   an undoing or annulling; destruction

6. Defeat

   frustration by rendering null and void, or by prevention of success; as, the defeat of a plan or design

7. Defeat

   an overthrow, as of an army in battle; loss of a battle; repulse suffered; discomfiture; -- opposed to victory

8. Etymology: [Cf. F. dfaite, fr. dfaire. See Defeat, v.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defeat

   de-fēt′, v.t. to frustrate: to ruin.—n. a frustration of plans: ruin: overthrow, as of an army in battle.—n. Defeat′ure (Spens.), defeat: disfigurement, disguise. [O. Fr. defait, defaire, to undo—L. dis, neg. facĕre, to do.]

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. defeat

   This word expresses the complete want of success of an army; a repulse signifying less, and a rout more, than defeat.

2. defeat

   To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'defeat' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3245

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'defeat' in Nouns Frequency: #1306

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'defeat' in Verbs Frequency: #623

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce defeat?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say defeat in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of defeat in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of defeat in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of defeat in a Sentence

1. Gavin Newsom:

   Though we defeated Donald Trump, we didn't defeat Donald Trump. Donald Trump is still alive and well, even here in the state of California, if you don't believe me, just consider... the likely person to enter an oath of office, to enter in the governor's office in just a matter of weeks if we don't reject this recall.

2. The Biden:

   We share a common goal, and together we are going to defeat Donald Trump.

3. Lis Smith:

   Senator Warren's idea of how to defeat Donald Trump is to tell people who don't support her that they are unwelcome in the fight and that those who disagree with her belong in the other party, we need to move beyond the politics and divisiveness that is tearing this country apart.

4. Theodore Roosevelt:

   Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

5. Arthur S. Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha:

   I never seek to defeat the man I am fighting, I seek to defeat his confidence. A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory. Two men are equals - true equals - only when they both have equal confidence.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=defeat
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Defeat
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=defeat
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defeat
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=defeat
7. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=defeat